Kingdom Hearts: Revelations
by HeartlessPhantom
Summary: The Darkness Faction has been at war with the Light for seven years. The Darkness Faction wants to take over the Light Faction to gain control of their land and resources to advance their society. Kazu Yuuki is a cold-blooded teenage soldier among the many soldiers that are forced to fight against their own will. Here, Kazu starts to realize how little he knows about himself.
1. Chapter 1 - QUESTIONABLE EXISTENCE

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yes, this is the revision of "[Kingdom Hearts] Phantom's Journey" with a better plot and major change in characters. I felt it is fitting since I was unsatisfied with the original product, and decided to redo it entirely with a brand new concept.**

 **ARC I:**

 **Antinomy**

 **Chapter I:**

 **QUESTIONABLE EXISTENCE**

The world we live in today is separated into two factions; Light and Darkness. These factions divide us from each other and springs conflict upon the other. The Light Faction, wishes to keep the balance between them and Darkness on equal balance. However, the Darkness Faction wish to upset that balance, in order to achieve greater power by conquering the Light Faction. Thus, they created the Calamity Project, a mission with the main objective of eliminating the Light Faction. In order to accomplish this task, the Keyblades were the key to doing so. These mysterious weapons were passed down from our ancestors, the key weapon ideally forged to vanquish the Light. As always, there was a traitor among the shadows, a special blacksmith became a renegade and escaped, passing the knowledge of the Keyblade towards the Light. Now, each faction has a based academy specializing in training the youth of today into full-fledged Keyblade Warriors. Light begets darkness, darkness begets light. They can't live without the other, and they can never work together. Therefore, an everlasting battle. This follows the story of Kazu Yuuki, an elite soldier who lacks an identity.

. . .

"Ahh!" Someone screamed. I felt a strong gust of wind push me back, at the same time, I saw a faint silhouette of someone fly by me. I quickly turn my head in 180 rotation, my eyes locked on the person that slid across the stone floor. Carelessness will get you killed without a second thought; I was taught that in the academy. We were on a scouting mission, tasked to wipe out a Boss Heartless. Heartless were supposedly the darkness within people's hearts, we defeat them to gather materials for Keyblades, that's as far I was told. We were in an open field, no trees for miles, only grass and Heartless to sneak up on us. I turn my head towards the direction the body came from, and there it was: a Boss Heartless. A colossal one at that, the Heartless was difficult to see, because it had jet black skin, it's eyes shined a bright yellow, and it had big wings, but I doubt it would be able to fly with that weight it would need to pull.

"Kazu Yuuki, eliminate the beast in front of you and gain its rare materials." the mission advisor's voice rang into my ear via the earpiece I was wearing. "Understood," I spoke back into my mic. I open the palm of my right hand and summon _Two Become One_ , my Keyblade. The Heartless seems to have been severely weakened by my squadmates, I assumed I was only a backup just in case something bad happened. In any case, I sighed to myself and ran up to the Colossal Heartless, it's movements were slow so I had nothing to worry about. It's hand attempted to punch me, I dodge it and jump onto its hand. Regaining my balance, I ran up its arm, I reached it's shoulder and jumped high into the air. I pointed my Keyblade towards the Heartless, "Firaga." I cast a magic spell. The orb of fire that formed at the tip of my Keyblade, launched itself at the Colossal Heartless, striking the head, and it evaporated into black smoke and sunk into the ground. I defeated it. I fell back to the ground, landing on my two feet. The recoil that I felt from hitting the ground circulated throughout my entire body. The Heartless dropped the materials, my team collected the fourteen _Dark Shards_ it dropped.

 _Dark Shards_ are drops that we collect from the various Heartless that appear all over the land, we use these resources to make the Keyblades and expendables, such as potions.

"Good work, Yuuki." My squadmate patted my back roughly.  
"It's nothing too much.. just a simple task that I wasn't needed " I replied to him.  
"Well, we have to trail back, see you." He said waving goodbye to me as he and the others walked off.  
"See you," I said, then trailed back to the academy on my own.

The academy, a school that has a training program and missions for each individual student to accomplish as homework, in addition to regular courses. These training sessions were considered important in our society, physical exams would be held for such sessions, testing our progress as soldiers and how well we are able to think on the battlefield. Students would struggle to try to balance regular studies and combat studies. The purpose of this academy is to train talented soldiers to send onto official missions into the Light Faction in the preparation for the final stage of the Calamity Project. Even though we were still in the academy, the higher-ups send the top students on these "important" missions and sometimes, assist the average students on basic scouting missions. It sounded like our army were so desperate for troops they have to send out students in the middle of training, by that logic, we aren't that well organized. But I guess it was alright since many troops were a loss in the first stage of the Calamity Project. The Calamity Project's purpose is to gain control of the Light Faction to increase power and land, but major casualties arose from the first mission; many soldiers were killed. So we, the youth, were forced into the academy to train for the mission, and around 25% of the students in the academy were taken from the Light Faction's main city during the raid at a young age. I was one of those students that were taken away, I won't elaborate on this.

"Kazu Yuuki." A familiar female voice spoke into my headset.  
"Yes," I responded.  
"Report." She ordered.  
"Colossal Heartless defeated, a total of fourteen Dark Shards procured."  
"Return to your room and rest up. Await further instructions."  
"..Understood." I agreed, without a second thought.

I returned to my dormitory room at the academy. I took off my scouting uniform and left it on the floor in a mess. I then changed into my sleeping clothes, just a shirt, and jeans. As ordered, I rested on my bed and waited till I drifted off into sleep.

 **END**

 **Next Time:**

" **QUESTION YOURSELF"**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is the end of the first chapter, let me know what you liked and what you didn't like, and some tips on how I should improve this. Take care!**


	2. Chapter 2 - QUESTION YOURSELF

**ARC I:**

 **Antinomy**

 **Chapter II**

 _ **QUESTION YOURSELF**_

* * *

The next day, I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock going off. After turning it off with a press of a button, I grabbed it and held it close to my face. My eyes weren't focusing on the object. I got used to it since my vision was always hazy in the first one to two minutes of waking. I read the hands, it was 5:01. I got out of bed, I had to get ready for school, otherwise, I would face punishment.

I walked over to my closet and pulled out my uniform from the hangers. I put on the black pants, gray dress shirt, and blazer over it. I walked over to the door and grabbed my bag and hung it over my shoulder. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, my hair was a mess. My hair was long, well, not as long that it reaches my back, just enough to cover most of the back of my neck. My bangs were even worse, it hung over my left eye and ended up covering almost half my face. I was never told to keep my hair neat, only to cut it to keep it at appropriate length.

My caretaker spoke into my earpiece, "You have a mission scheduled for nighttime. Report to me later in my office for details. For now, just head to class." Her voice was clear.  
"Understood," I said, putting on my black leather shoes. I walked out of my door, locked it, and headed for class.

Classes at this academy were very simple. Just seven classes focusing on education, and the last one is a two hour long class for combat; as a result, school ends at five o'clock. The combat class teaches us the basics on fighting, which comes in handy in one-on-one training exercises and eventually, a real battle to the death. There are various lessons for us to be versatile on the field, for example, disarming your opponent. It is useful yes, but only for a split second opening if you're facing Keyblade Wielders since the blade can just reappear in their hand a split second after disarming them. The academy even created facilities to accommodate to the students needs in the combat field. But that just erected more lessons from our strict instructor. These facilities allow us to use materials like Dark Shards or rarely Dark Gems to create expendables, such as potions for healing wounds and mana restoration for magic. The dark essence the Heartless leave behind are key components to brewing the potion, as well as herbal ingredients and exotic ones to keep it stable. For example, using the dark essence of Heartless, a calendula-a plant grown all over the world, and the Dark Shard to stabilize the dark essence as it is hard to contain, this creates a healing potion.

The academy is a huge building, it was easy to get lost in your own school. It's understandable since every single hallway and classroom looks the same. It seems like a labyrinth inside the school, everything looks the same no matter where you look. In the middle of the school, is the courtyard, or battlefield I should say. It's where our combat class and training takes place. That's pretty much the only thing that stands out in this school.

* * *

 **. . .**

TIME SKIP: AFTER SCHOOL

* * *

walked towards the brown wooden door at the end of the hallway, "Can I come in?" I asked, knocking.  
"You may." A female voice spoke.

I opened the door and walked in. It was the Emigrace's office, otherwise known as the Head of the Darkness Faction Recruitment Program. Her office room is unusually dark this time around, the only source of light was her desk lamp, the light hovered over some papers I walked closer to the light and closer to the desk. My eyes hovered over the paper and carefully examined it. It was an assassination mission.

"As you saw," she spoke. The lights suddenly come on and startled me a bit. I look around for Emigrace and saw her walking towards me from the doors. Her presence was overwhelming, almost as if she was going to attack me at any second. She's infamous for scaring recruits and students alike. It was normally due to her cool tone whenever she speaks.  
"This is an assassination mission." She spoke sternly and waved the paper in front of my face. Her gaze was clearly locked on me, it was deadly. I felt as if my life would be in danger if I miss one detail for this mission.  
"As in, don't fuck it up." She said directly, and giving a small sigh after. "Listen up, you have to infiltrate the Light Faction Academy and assassinate Ayako Tsumura, she's one of their top students. We have been planning this out for you for the past month. We have her schedule, an entire layout of the school, the time she would be sleeping, and an air ventilation route to her room." She flipped through various papers, showing that they spent a lot of work into this.  
"Isn't that.. stalking?" I questioned.  
"Yes, and we needed to do what was necessary to make this successful. Their security was very weak, it was no problem." She said, clearly laid back.  
"Then why were you staring at me with the intent of murdering me if I fail?" I asked.  
"You are full of questions, it was like when I first met you back then." She said, getting nostalgic and off topic. She snapped back into reality after a few minutes, "Oh, sorry. I was on a nostalgia trip. Back to the topic, you shouldn't fail because this is very important and will bring us closer to the final step of the Calamity Project, So I made preparations, to ensure you'll successfully assassinate someone. We couldn't anyone else to do it, and with your skills and ability to stay calm under such situations make you the perfect candidate. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't get lost." She explained and handed the papers to me.  
"Understood." I took the papers and she guided me out the door.

Emigrace, the Head of the Darkness Faction Recruitment Program, also my caretaker. She is responsible for all of my actions and is the reason why I am here now. She recruits potential teens that can be turned into hardened soldiers with enough training; that's what she saw in me. I was taken under her wing four years ago. Since then, she forced me into intense training, day after day, it was tiring and I wanted to give up so many times. But I pushed on and improved myself. I was the first recruit she ever had any real interest in, so she often pushed me to break my limitations. I trained under her for two years then she enrolled me into this academy, she told me that my ability to wield my Keyblade was unlike any she has ever seen. She said I had a "natural" feel of fighting. I didn't understand it. But I can tell that her interest in me grew deeper, and she was ecstatic whenever I exceeded her expectations. She was almost obsessed with me, going as far to start monitoring my health, my behavior, my mentality, everything. Even making me she wear an earpiece every single day. To feed me information that I would need, and everything that I need to do. Plus, it acted like a tracker for her, so she can pinpoint my location. However, I was told that the range was limited only in the areas controlled by the Darkness Faction, so if I were to go to the Light Faction Academy at this hour for my mission, I would drop out of her radar. She even said that I might have a gift although I didn't think for a second I would have a gift.. for fighting anyway. But the more I think about it, I don't exactly remember how I felt at the time, my memories were very fuzzy, it was strange. I only kept feelings of dread and hurt, but that's about it. That's all I remembered about my past, everything was blurred. It was frustrating, but I didn't express that. It felt wrong, very wrong.

I decided to go over my thoughts in my room till dusk.

The mission carefully stated that I should quietly kill my target.. to prevent any other issues. The map of the academy was in the small stack of papers too. The layout was similar to this academy, almost paralleling each other. Was it coincidence? I don't know at this point. I went back to the mission guidelines to look over it again. I am instructed to wear my school uniform for this mission, why? Doesn't that sound strange? It doesn't even specify that I should hide my face with a mask or anything. There is a possibility that they thought it was unneeded for this mission. But shouldn't you wear a mask regardless?

Emigrace stopped my train of thought, "You are unable to wear a mask because we are making ourselves known to the light. We are emerging from the shadows and taking action, that's the point."  
I should be used to this really, "Are you watching me?"  
"Of course. For security reasons, we installed a camera in your room." Her carefree tone rang into my ears.  
"That is very worrying."  
She giggled a bit, "Have fun reviewing the mission."  
At that point, I couldn't even bother to relax. Since now I found out that she has a surveillance camera in my room.. watching me twenty-four hours and seven days a week. I felt my privacy stripped away from me. I reviewed the mission and the schematics of the school one more time before waiting for dusk.

I waited at the outskirts of the academy in our territory. Waiting for the signal to start the mission by the head council.

"Mission start." I received the signal from the other end. I start dashing into the thick woods. I have to be very careful once I get there. I had doubts about their security being very lax, but I didn't have any reason to distrust anyone. But at this moment, I'm the only one I should trust. I'm on my own, I need to do what it takes to finish the mission and seek my way back home. Without any problems.

As expected, traveling there is more difficult than I thought. As least I didn't have to sneak in an open area. But the thick roofs of the trees prevent any moonlight to shine my way. I was in complete darkness, but in these situations, I was taught to rely on my senses. I manage to get through to the Light Faction's Academy gate by hopping tree to tree. I hid in the bushes and took a small glimpse at the gate. The guards were sleeping. "Seriously?" I said, beyond disbelief.

I shook off the feeling and ran over to the three-meter high stone wall and ran up the wall, allowing me to dive into a small blind spot at the bottom. I hid in the shadows and advanced towards the dormitory building on the west wing.

I snuck inside the school and carefully made my way to the dorms. As expected, the entire school had it's lights off, which means it everyone in the dorms should be sleeping. I locate the air ventilation in the ceiling in the lobby. I used my Keyblade to unlock the vent cover, I jumped into the shaft and crawled through the vent shaft.

Keyblades have the mysterious power of unlocking anything. It is unknown why Keyblades have this power, some believe it is the power of the wielder at work, others believe the Keyblade can use the ability regardless. Since Keyblade Wielders can unlock anything using their Keyblades, each faction had to stop using locked doors for hidden secrets and had to devise secret passageways to bypass this problem.

I made my way to my target's room, the map was correct. I busted the vent cover open and jumped down into the room. I looked around, it was completely dark, but I felt around for something that resembles a bed. I noticed a wooden bed, with white covers. There was a lump in the shape of a body. I got up removed the covers; I was tricked. It was a line of pillows, the cheapest thing to do. My eyes flared at the sudden flash of the bedroom light. I heard a girl's voice yell at me, "Intruder!"

"Dammit." I cursed under my breath. I looked in the direction of the voice, and the target, Ayako Tsumura, was standing in the closet wearing her uniform.  
"So you're from the Darkness Faction, correct?" She questioned. Her hair was as white as her uniform, the uniform she wore was a white military uniform with gold highlights, with a short white skirt with black stockings and white boots to top it off.  
"Yes, and you must be Ayako Tsumura, an elite soldier of the Light Faction Academy," I said. This was bad news.  
"Correct, I was unaware on how much information your people gathered on me. But your stealth skills are lackluster, we noticed your people snooping around the academy, mapping it out all the way to my room." She explained. Her gaze was sharp, her eyes had fierce determination.  
"Was that why security was low? To capture me? Your people are quite perceptive." "At least you're able to tell that much. But that's enough.." She opened the palm of her gloved hand, summoning her Keyblade. It glowed in bright white as it summoned. "..you're coming with me." She pointed her weapon towards me. I felt a menacing aura around her, her eyes gave off the vibe of a fiery soul.  
"..Shit." I cursed under my breath. I quickly turned around and kicked the door open, rushing out in a flash and into the hallway. She brought the chase on and projected a flurry of attacks in my direction, "Triple Blizzaga!"  
Three separate orbs of ice were sent flying into my direction. In retaliation, I summoned Two Become One, and swung at the orbs and sent them to fly into the wall, which formed a huge ice crystal. I quickly turned around and ran, I noticed the lights flicker on and all the students emerge from the rooms to see the commotion. "What the-SHIT!" One of them gawked at the sudden appearance of the huge ice crystal near his door.

"What in the world is going on..?"  
"Quiet down already.."  
"Who's that..? Ayako..?"

All around me, I hear comments of the students as I run past them. Ayako has halted her line of fire, valuing the lives of her fellow students. Even though she's the enemy; it's admirable. Some of the students tried to grab me but I knocked them down with my weapon. I made my way to the courtyard area, I jumped from the window of the viewing area to get here. Ayako closely followed from behind, and I can see the students that woke up gather around the halls, viewing through the glass. I turned to face her, readying my Keyblade with both hands and spreading my legs to prepare myself.

"You managed to dodge my attacks, but I won't miss again! Triple Firaga!" She raised her Keyblade and conjured three orbs of fire, projecting them at me. I dash towards her to evade the attack and our blades meet.  
"You're the first to ever dodge my Triple Magic techniques, who are you?" She questioned. "Kazu Yuuki," I answered. I cut off our blades and jumped back a few feet. "Thundaga." I thrust my weapon forward, and currents of lightning flowed from my Keyblade and projected themselves to my target. She curled her body into a roll mid-jump and rolled away to evade.  
She snuck up behind me and struck me with her Keyblade, "Is that the uniform for the Darkness Faction? Not only are you wearing it in such an unorganized manner, but is that how your faction operates?" she started to mock our school.

I got back up on feet, "Reflect our nature."  
"What?" She said, confused.  
"This uniform allows us to be free, we are free to wear it, however, we, please. Because it shows our free will. That's what I am told."  
She started laughing uncontrollably, "Hahaha... what? That's what you're told? Then tell me, where is your free will? Because from how you act, it tells me otherwise."  
"..." I remained quiet. I had nothing to say, to be honest, I never questioned it before. I haven't realized it, that I have no free will. My life revolved around listening to others and follow commands from the higher-ups, it never occurred to me that I have no free will of my own. Comparing myself to her, she seems independent, I haven't seen her call for backup yet, she has confidence in her own strength.

"You got nothing to say? Then I'll gladly have the honor of imprisoning you myself." Ayako positioned herself for a strong forward thrust. She dashed past me and whispered, "What are you fighting for?" at that moment, I break down. I fell to my knees and tried to grasp those words. It feels like I should be fighting for something else, yet, whenever I try to recall that, my head starts hurting badly. I grasp my head with both hands, trying to stop the pain, it didn't stop so I stopped trying to recall. Even so, those words lingered in my head and I started feeling things that I have never felt before anger, joy and most importantly, vengeance. It pained me even more. I was confused to why she would ask me such a question, was I so abnormal that she had to help me? Why would she help me? Does she pity me? Questions like those poisoned my thoughts.

"Breaking down already? Well, you have all the time to think of the prison block." She held her weapon against my neck.  
"I'm not going anywhere," I said quietly. I have to get out of here, by any means necessary. I quickly stood up and clashed my Keyblade with hers.  
"I.. let my guard down!" She yelped, surprised.  
"Blizzaga..!" ice starts forming at the tip of my Keyblade, I cut off our connected blades and projected the ice at her. She cast a magic barrier in defense, "Reflect!" the ice reflected back to me, I block it with my Keyblade.  
I was astonished, "Reflect..!?" Reflect is high-class defense magic, it's very difficult to pull off. Someone would have to go through months, maybe years of practice to even master it. If she is able to learn it so quickly, I shouldn't be here. I ran past her and scaled the wall back up into the academy and made a run for the exit.

Of course, getting out wasn't simple. I had to fight my way through the students that were viewing the fight. I managed to make it back to the Darkness Faction territory in one piece. She knew I was going to be there, it was a failure from the start. I had no choice but to run, it was better than to be captured. But for her to even use high-class magic like that? Well, she hasn't mastered it fully, so that's a relief. The rebounding aftershock didn't occur when my attack hit, she was only capable of reflecting it back to me.

I got out of the dense forest. I saw three members of Advanced Squad 1 waiting for me. Before I could utter a word they apprehended me.

"What the-" I tried to speak but they cut me off.  
"Operative Kazu Yuuki, report!" They ordered.  
"Tch.. mission, complete failure.." I said, hanging my head in sorrow.  
"..On orders from the commander: Kazu Yuuki, for failing such an important mission, you'll receive punishment effective immediately!" The leader announced sternly. Punishment, hearing that words bring horrible feelings back. In fact, it makes me tear up upon hearing that. But before I could cry, I felt a strong force hit my stomach. The leader kicked me, hard. "Oof!" I groan in pain.  
"You'll see the commander soon enough." he said.

 **END**

 **Next Time:**

 **Realization**


	3. Chapter 3 - REALIZATION

**ARC I:**

 **Antinomy**

 **Chapter III**

 _ **REALIZATION**_

 **PREVIOUSLY**

* * *

Kazu Yuuki is tasked to assassinate Ayako Tsumura, an elite member of the Light Faction Academy. He failed to complete the mission and now he is facing punishment issued by the high council of the Darkness Faction.

* * *

It was past midnight, I got thrown into the high council chamber, although only the commander himself was present. The three members of the Advanced Division pinned me down on my back.

"Kazu Yuuki, report," he commanded. His strict voice pierced my ears, as I knew that I would be killed on the spot if I screwed up.  
"..Assassination Mission, objective: assassinate Ayako Tsumura, result failure. The guards found our Stealth Squad sneaking about the academy, they deliberately lowered their guard to lure us out. I got beaten by her, but I managed to escape," I explain in a broken tone.  
"Disappointing. I thought it was best to leave everything to you, given that Emigrace trained you herself. But it looks like we underestimated the Light Faction," he sighed.  
"Commander Yami, what should we do to the failed operative?" one of the Advanced Squad asked.  
"Take him out of my sight. Proceed with the punishment, it's only fair," Commander Yami ordered.

They pulled me up from the ground and saluted to the commander before dragging me out of the room. I didn't have any words to protest, I still had a lot to think about.

Commander Yami, he is the Head of the Darkness Faction Militia. His leadership skills minimized the number of casualties in the first step of the Calamity Project. He ascended into power with his ambitions and positive remarks from the masses of society. His predecessor died in battle before the start of the Calamity Project. Yami took the burden of everyone's expectations onto his back. Eventually succeeding his predecessor and establishing a new era in the Darkness Faction.

I was walking down a long corridor, the floor was white marble the walls and ceiling shared the same material. I've seen the torture room before, it was completely white, with distinct dry blood splatters on the walls and floor. I imagined there was a bloodbath in there last time someone got tortured. I only call it a torture room because that's what it looked like to me at the time, it's more accurate to call it a "punishment room." They opened the locked metal door and tossed me across the floor. They stepped inside and locked the door behind them, ensuring that I won't try to escape. If I did, my life would be in danger.

One of them asked, "Where do we start?" they started to discuss numerous things they could do. It started with if they were going to hurt me physically or mentally, then transitioned into where they were going to hit me. Two of the Advanced Division members in front of me were in their uniform. Untucked dress shirt with the bolo tie and buttoned blazer. There was only one girl among them, but the uniform was the same for both genders.

"The gut is the most generic place to hit," one of them stated.  
"Then do you have anything to suggest, Yuro?" the girl asked. The person named Yuro was on my right of them. He had brown hair with long bangs but combed neatly. He wore a black peacoat over a dark red turtleneck sweater, with black pants and black leather shoes. I would assume he came back from an espionage mission, given his choice of clothing.

"Freeze him?" Yuro blindly suggested.  
"What the!? No! We're not killing him! Do you understand the word 'punishment'?!" the girl yelled.  
"Punishment can exte- oh wait, that's torture." Yuro corrected himself. Is this guy for real?  
"You're an idiot." the girl started immediately.  
"You're only figuring that out know?" the guy said.  
"Cut it out, Dennis, Alexis," Yuro pointed at me and continued, "We need to decide on something quick, we are wasting his time, my time and your time,"

Dennis and Alexis, obviously annoyed by Yuro, aggressively walk over to me to lift me off the ground. They used me as a live punching bag. Each one of their blows hurt, eventually, I started coughing up blood.

"Gah!" I screamed in response to their punches.  
"..." they didn't say a word, they just kept punching me, as if they were imagining they were punching Yuro instead of me. Their angry facial expressions supported that thought, even more, the punches felt like I was being pounded with a twenty-pound weight repeatedly, just by looking at them. They punched not only my gut but my face too. However, not as much as my stomach.

Time passed.. they stopped with the torture and the trio took me out of the room. I was completely bothered. I had a trail of blood from my mouth and bruises on my face. They were carrying out their own conversations while they dragged me back to my dorm room.

Dennis called out, "Yuro, how was your report?"  
"Just gathering information from the Light Faction. It was small, but every bit of info is important," Yuro shrugged.  
"Espionage?" I asked, curious.  
"Uh-huh! Just some juicy info on one or two of the elite members of the Light Faction Academy," he said.  
"Juicy? It better be acceptable for the Calamity Project," Dennis said, doubtful.  
"I think one of them was.. Ayako. Ayako Tsumura!" Yuro said, able to recall. He continued, "Ayako Tsumura, the person Kazu failed to assassinate, is an elite member. She raised to the ranks quickly during her second-year, almost mastering high-level magic."  
"How do you know that much?" I asked. Ayako Tsumura, her words made me question myself for the first time, She is certainly a special person, perhaps it's the power of the Light Faction as a whole. Managing to bring light into the darkness. You could say that she "lit up the path to the truth," or something like that.  
"Well, I was on the espionage mission for quite a long time, I witnessed Kazu's fight with Ayako myself. I learned about her grade from gossiping students hours prior to Kazu's infiltration," he explained.  
"Oh? What high-level magic did she use?" Dennis smirked, still doubting.  
"..Reflect," I said. I hear the two gasp in surprise.  
"Wait, are you for real?" Alexis asked her voice was full of disbelief and surprise.  
"How can a second-year master high-level magic like that?" Dennis said, skeptical.  
"She hasn't mastered it. The aftershock of the rebounded damage didn't occur. From what I saw before I hightailed outta there was Kazu's Blizzaga being reflected back at him. So she hasn't mastered it yet, but it's still troublesome to deal with. Don't you say?" Yuro explained. He's completely right, Ayako was able to "send back to sender" with her Reflect. Underestimating her would only be an insult to her if anything. Her skills are on par with other elite members of the Darkness Faction Academy. I wasn't able to compose myself to fight on even ground. Her words made me froze in place during the fight so many times, it nearly cost me my life. Ever since I haven't felt the same and it hasn't even been a day yet! Do her words have _that_ much of an effect on me?

"What are you fighting for?" her words rang in my head once more. What am I fighting for? I'll be honest, I don't know the answer to that question myself. I never had a reason to fight for something. I only followed orders thoroughly.

"Hahahaha... where is your free will? Because from how you act, it tells me otherwise." her laugh only a few hours ago brings chills down my spine. Just thinking about it, reminds me of her face at that time, unable to hold in what nonsense I had to say to counter her words against me. Come to think of it, I really don't have a free will do I? Since all I have been doing all my life is following orders from the higher-ups like a dog following his or her master's orders. She has a point, a very good point. She acted on her will to attack, she was even told by guards that we were mapping out their academy. It's remarkable.. really. I'm an idiot. Truly.

I snap back into reality after zoning out for a good about of time. I hear someone call out to me, "Hey, Kazu. Wake up," Yuro said.  
".. I'm awake."  
Yuro sighed, "I think you guys hit him too hard."  
"Oh come on, he can take a small beating," Alexis shrugged.

I noticed we were at the front of my dorm room. They let me back on my feet. I was surprised they actually carried me on their backs on the way here. I was still able to walk. I turned to them and waved them goodbye. I confined myself to my room for the entire night, not wishing for a night's rest. All on my mind was Ayako's words, they affected me a lot. It was almost impossible to get them out of my line of thoughts when I realized they were true. I remembered I had my earpiece still on, I tried communicating to Emigrace, "Hey. Emigrace! Are you there?"

"Here. What is it?" she answered back. She's awake? I thought, maybe she's doing some extra paperwork or something. That, or she wanted to check up on me.  
"I have a few questions."  
"Oh no, this isn't about puberty, is it?" she giggled annoyingly.  
I sighed, "Of course not."  
"It's actually something serious? Wow. I am astonished," she said sarcastically, but with my sense of humor, to be correct, my lack of humor didn't pick up on it.  
"You know it's always going to be serious."  
"Well. What is it?" she asked, restlessly.  
"What do you think I'm fighting for?" I ask.

A moment of silence passed, then I received a response from Emigrace.

"You know, I cannot answer that.. at all. You have to find it, yourself," she said, in her more calm tone. That's actually quite mature of her, I thought.  
".. Really?" I said, having doubts.  
"Shouldn't you be the one to decide it for yourself? It's not like I'm in charge of every decision you make," her sincere voice rang into my ears. I knew she was right. I didn't have to ask her and I can't ask her to help me in my pursuit for it. Only I can do it. Only I can grasp my purpose.  
".. Thanks," I quietly said.  
"Take good care of yourself, okay? Now get some rest, come see me in my office tomorrow morning."  
"What for?" I asked. Tomorrow was Sunday, no school on Sundays, so it was puzzling.  
"You'll see," she hummed.

I decided to wait till morning to see what she wanted, I didn't even bother changing. I just went to bed immediately and waited for the wave of sleep to engulf my body.

* * *

 **...**

* * *

"You _idiot_!" Emigrace snapped as soon as I took a seat in her office. I knew where this was heading.  
"You knew how important this mission was to the faction, yet you _failed_? Inexcusable!" she roared. Once she rambles on, you cannot reason with her, at all. She's like a mad cow on a rampage, craving for more cow meat-I think it was a huge mistake to make a metaphor with her and a cow.  
"You had one chance. one! And she was sleeping too! How in the hell did you fuck it up so badly that the commander had to order the Advanced Division to come fetch you like a lost puppy in a park!?" her metaphors were out of this world, but at least they made some sense.  
"She snuck up on me," I simply said.  
"So she snuck up on you," her face was expressionless. I nodded slowly.  
"How?" she asked.  
"She found out our Stealth Divison were sneaking around the academy mapping out the place to her room, so she waited out the following nights waiting for someone to ambush and capture," I explained carefully.  
"So they were found out by the guards.." Emigrace muttered to herself.  
"Eh?" I wondered what she said.  
"Nothing. It wasn't anything important," she brushed it off. She slammed her hand on the desk to get my attention, " _Well_. What do you think of their elite members?"  
Whew.. I thought she was going to ask me if I liked her, she's always been joking about that, I thought.  
"They are certainly powerful," I admitted.  
"So, how did one of our top members got his _ass handed to him_? After all the training I gave you that put you near death? Don't you remember? That whole mountain fiasco that I made you climb for three days? Where did the progress go?" she wondered. Her expression clearly read that she was irritated that I failed. Since I was the only student that she ever trained personally.  
"I was thinking about things."  
"Things like that.. will get you killed on the battlefield," she sighed, then continued, "Then again! You are a teenage boy after all. You were probably gawking at her during your fight. I guess that's understandable."  
"What? Of course not!" I finally yelled out.  
She sighed, "This is why we shouldn't have assigned teenagers going through puberty into the military. Hahaha!"

Well, at least she's back to normal. I prefer this side of her better than her angry side. Much less yelling this way. At least she brings some sort of happiness in my life, it isn't all gloom.

* * *

 **END**

 **NEXT TIME:**

Roughly a month as passed since my assassination mission, from orders from the commander, I had to take a break from school. To recuperate with myself, I guess Emigrace told him what happened. She always knew if I was struggling or troubled. In that time, I devoted it to train with Yuro, from the Advanced Division. Being honest, it was tough. But it was worth it. I made a good acquaintance and improved myself. But now...

"The Light Faction is attacking! Repeat, Light Faction is attacking! All available soldiers out at the front gates of the academy immediately!"

 _ **PURPOSE**_

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ehh.. since I didn't want to do a recap of what will happen in a time skip next chapter, I preferred to do this. If you think it's not good, I'll get rid of it. If you think it was poorly executed, give me tips on how to improve it. I appreciate it!**


	4. Chapter 4 - PURPOSE

**ARC I:**

 **Antinomy**

 **Chapter IV**

 _ **PURPOSE**_

* * *

We were sparring today. I had the upper hand against him. Our Keyblades' clashed and sparks flew from each slash, the sound of clashing metal reverberated into my ears each time.

"Here goes..! Sonic Blade!" Yuro pulled his body back pulled his arm away, he pushed his weight forward and thrust his Keyblade in my direction, resulting in a fast dash attack. I managed to dodge away by an inch. He stopped in his tracks and looked at me, he had a determined look on his face. He wanted to beat me today, but I didn't let him.  
"Blizzaga Dash," I pulled my body back and extended my arm back, I put it all into one force and dashed in his direction, cloaking my body in ice in the process. Yuro sidestepped. As expected, Blizzaga Dash is slower than Sonic Dash.

Yuro smirked, "Testing out new moves, eh? But that won't work. Come! Ice Barrage!" he extended his left hand into the sky as if he was trying to grasp something. Sharp crystals of ice start forming around him and they project themselves at me. I managed to block all of them, and I dashed forward to put the pressure on him. I went on the aggressive offensive tactic. Without rest, I swung my Two Become One at him in any way possible. The sparks flew once again as we clashed, people say that this was the ideal way for warriors to understand one another, it was through combat. Through combat, we would be able to understand the other from how we fight. I didn't understand how that works when I first heard it. But I feel like I know now. Those fierce eyes that Yuro has, it shows that he never gives up. That is made apparent in our bout, no matter how many times he missed or how many times I knocked him down, he got back up and faced me one more time till he ran out of stamina. I wonder what he sees in me this way. How much does he understand? Am I getting through to him at all in our fight? Thoughts like those fly through my thoughts as I continued to swing at him. He was gritting his teeth, he was trying desperately to block all of my swings. Alas, it was impossible to block all of them. I can tell that the recoil of trying to parry all of my swings are starting to take their toll on him. I jumped away from him to give him a bit of rest. His arm lowered down to his side, he was gasping for air. His stamina has finally run dry.

"You did well, Yuro," I call out, then I extend my arm towards him, pointing my Two Become One at him. In reaction, he gasped. He knew, he knew that I wouldn't let him off the hook unless I landed one magic attack on him. I could feel my blood pumping. I had no expression on my face, I was almost at my limit, but I still kept my straight face on. "... Finish this," my Keyblade lit a small blue flame at the tip, then it coated my entire Keyblade with the blue fire. I pulled my arm back, spreading my legs. "Inferno Break," I quietly spoke out the command. I pulled myself forward, swing my arm in a horizontal manner, the blue flames flew off my blade and projected themselves towards Yuro. The blue flames resembled the shape of a crescent moon. Yuro took the attack and fell over.

After our training session, our last one before I had to return to school tomorrow, we cleaned up and rested on a nearby bench in the hallway near the training field. Yuro still looked beat up, so I offered him a potion. He accepted it with a smile and drank it. Within seconds, his wounds healed up.

"It's amazing how potions can heal within a matter of seconds," Yuro spoke with wide eyes.  
"The plant used to make it is rumored to have healing properties," I said.  
"Amazing, these will be useful when we fight the Light Faction again," Yuro said in high spirits. Looks like he's revved up again. His positive energy motivated other students to continue trying despite their failures, people looked up to Yuro because of his interactions with the students. I have done nothing like that. I'm only known for my "robotic-like" behavior and my skills, that's it. I haven't really opened up to Yuro yet, if I ask him now, it might bring him down. I wouldn't want that.  
".. Yeah," I agreed with Yuro. ".. I going to the roof for a while," I got up from my seat.  
"Alright, stay safe," he said.

I nodded back at him and started making my way to the roof. During this time, the halls should be empty and the other students would either be in their dorm rooms or be studying.

I finally made my way to the rooftop via a set of stairs. I opened the door and walked in. The rooftop wasn't anything special. It just had ventilation shafts and railing all along the edges. I looked over to the thick forest area near us. Through that forest is the Light Faction Academy.

There, I failed my first mission and suffered the consequences. It was strange. My feelings wavered by my opponents words, which cost me the match. Will I be granted another chance to fight her? Ayako Tsumura, an elite member of the Light Faction Academy.. who is able to use Reflect. The most powerful type of defense magic a Keyblade Wielder can learn. Did she hold back on me? There's no way I could tell, that was only my first battle against someone from the opposing side.

I sighed and focused my gaze on the sun over on the horizon. The sky glowed a deep orange, the setting sun . That vision was ruined, as I look down and see the academy students rushing out through the front gates. I look ahead in the direction of the forest to see why, I notice the Light Faction Academy students running over, Keyblade in hand and ready to wage a war.

"Attention all students of Illusion Academy!" the speakers switch on and my attention switches to that. "The Enlightenment Academy has declared an attack on our Academy. All students to the front of the Academy immediately," the speakers switch off. I am left in awe. I didn't expect such a chance to come as soon as I wished for it. Coincidence? Faith? None of that matters now, what matters now is that now I have another chance to face Ayako again. I've prepared myself for this with Yuro for one month. That may not be enough to overpower her and Reflect, but I must make do with the strength I have at the moment.

I jumped over the railing and landed on the five-meter tall walls of the Illusion Academy. The recoil made me flinch, but I push down the pain and jump off the wall and onto the grassy ground. I take a quick glance around my surroundings. I spot Yuro in the crowd of students preparing to attack the incoming students from the opposing side. I decide to head off on my own to fight my way to Ayako. I know that's reckless of me to do, but a chance like this is rare. I must take it.

I stand on my feet and run ahead. But before I could get far, I hear Emigrace in my headset. "Stop," her voice was commanding and strict. I stopped in my tracks, "Return to the group and await orders," she continued.

I groaned and talked back, "Why?"  
"Because you're a soldier. Disobeying someone of higher status is against your code as a soldier," she said.  
"But..!" I hesitated.  
"Don't disobey us, Operative Kazu Yuuki. Now return to your allies," she ordered.  
"..Understood," I frowned. I curl my open palms into fists in frustration, then returned to the crowd of students to await orders.

There was a commotion among the gathered students, I was away from Yuro so I couldn't talk to him if I could. I didn't want to talk to him anyway, I was frustrated. For the first time, I was frustrated. It was a strange feeling. I didn't feel much of anything, but now, these feelings that are now surging up inside me feel like they're about to consume me whole. Even though they are just a few: happiness, anger and compassion. I felt like a slave to these few emotions that started swelling up. It all started when I met Ayako. Hypothetically speaking, if I were to kill her, maybe these feelings would go away. But if that were to happen, I would return to being empty like before. Things would return to where they were. However, I would lose connection with Yuro if I do that. I don't think Yuro would want that. I let these thoughts plague my mind for the time being.

"You know.. this is our first time ever coming in contact with the Light Faction Academy ever since the first stage of the Calamity Project," one of the male students said. My attention started moving back and forth to their comments. I felt curious to what they think about this.  
"I know. It has been.. what? Ten years since the first stage?" a female student replied.  
"Makes me wonder, will the Light Faction actually put up a fight?" another student commented.  
"It would be no fun if they are just weak fodder."  
"True that, I want some excitement in my life."

Don't underestimate them, I thought, they are more powerful than they seem.

"Isn't that one of the Elite Division members, Kazu Yuuki?" a male student called out to me.  
"Yeah, what about it?" another student questioned.  
"I dunno, it's odd. He seems much different than usual."  
"Didn't you hear? He got jumped during his assassination mission. Apparently, he was tasked to kill one of the Light Faction Academy's Elite, Ayako Tsumura, but he failed," the student said.

Rumors spread quickly, huh? I thought.

I heard Yuro is going to advance soon, but I don't know when. Currently, there are four elite members, including myself. There is only a fifth spot open. Others have been fighting over it, but from the looks of it, Yuro might advance to it first. I'm in the fourth seat, there are meetings, of course, for discussions regarding decisions from the higher-ups. I don't know any of the other seats, well, not entirely, I only know their names. I wasn't required to go to these meetings, to be clear, I was ordered not to attend them at all.

"Attention, students of Darkness Faction Academy!" someone with a tough sounding voice shouted. Almost instantly, all of the students stopped talking and turned to up front, as if they were like robots programmed to move with the use of a command.

"The Light Faction Academy is about to attack at any moment. According to the Overseer on the tower, they are reorganizing their platoon. Now will be the time to strike. There will be one objective: leave no survivors. It's the first time in ten years have we finally engaged in combat with the Light Faction. Do not let this chance escape us. Now that you know the objective.. CHARGE!" the leader turned around to 180 degrees and pointed towards the Light Faction. At that moment, the entire crowd of students rushed forward screaming their war cries. Unbeknownst to the leader, I have my own agenda. I had to locate Ayako Tsumura at all costs. We were away from the Academy by four or five meters, then the group began to split up. At the same time, I caught sight of the Light Faction doing the same thing as us. Within a matter of seconds, we were already engaging in fights with the other. The sun was still in the sky, still setting, the orange tint from the tiny bit of sunlight that was still shining over us started to disappear. The fight has begun, under the cover of dawn. I summoned my Two Become One and ran with it at my side. Two students from the Light Faction blocked my way, "So this guy is one of the 'elites' I have been hearing about? Ha! He doesn't look so tough!" one of them said.

"Don't judge others by their looks," I said to counter.  
"Well, let's see about that," both of them charged at me with their Keyblades. I sidestep out of the way and I hit them with the side of my Keyblade on the temple of their heads, successfully knocking them out. They fell to the ground with a thud. I quickly dashed away to continue my search. Even though we were tasked to kill them, it would take too long. I needed all the time to find Ayako. I wanted a clean battle with a fresh opponent. In order to do that, I must save as much time as possible.  
"It's a Illusion Academy student! Charge at him!" someone commanded, suddenly around five students made a dash towards me.

What a bother, I thought, just when I just saved some time, this had to happen. There are questions that I need to answer, an enemy that I must conquer. My feelings emerged from being in contact with her, even if killing her won't change a thing, I want to at least feel it again!

"Surrounding Attack Technique, Spiral Break."

Physical attacks are divided into different categories depending on the effect. This allows students to create their own attacks that work in different situations on the field. Such as, you would need to use a Surrounding Attack to gain the upper hand in a field of multiple enemies. Trick the enemy into lowering their guard and strike them down. These attacks are handy but take quite a while to master them successfully. For instance, a simple technique, Slashing, may take days or at the most, weeks to master; depending on how difficult it is. These attack techniques are special, as they come to the user's mind. Some attacks can be taught, but they take longer to master as opposed to attacks learned from the mind.

I jump about five meters in the air, hovering for a few seconds before spiraling into the ground with my arm extended with my Keyblade. I didn't intend to hit anyone with the attack, I just needed to confuse them for a bit. I hit the ground, creating a small hole in the ground with my Keyblade sticking out. I grab the handle and swing myself in a 60-degree angle to hit the opponent in front of me. I let go as soon as I made contact, I push him to the ground with my Keyblade now out of the ground. I quickly get up and crouched as the students from the Light Faction attempted to strike, I let them miss and I surprise them with a 360-degree sweep spin to knock them off their feet. Two more students remained. A female student among the three males I defeated attempted to fire a Blizzaga attack at point-blank range. That would inflict heavy damage if it connects. I grab her Keyblade and lifted it into the air, making her misfire the projectile. I stab the side of her stomach, made sure to miss any vital organs. I kicked her to remove my Keyblade from her body. I face the last student, who is a male. He seems to be trembling with fear, seeing how I defeated the other four of his comrades with ease. He couldn't hold his weapon properly, as he was shaking with fear. Which is made even more obvious as he is gritting his teeth and tears streaking down the sides of his face. A part of me wanted to leave him be, but another side of me wanted to make him suffer. I didn't have time to deal with this, but I have to take in the possibility that he might muster up the courage to attack me. I must remove all possibilities. I dashed up to him and jabbed his stomach with my left hand. He groaned in pain and let go of his Keyblade to hold his stomach with both hands. He fell to his knees, hanging his head. He lifted his head up to see my Keyblade as I was preparing a Fire spell. Looking at his wide eyes, he didn't even need to speak a word. I can already perceive what he would say; a whimper of denial or screams of mercy. Either way, I launched the Fire spell at point-blank range. I turned away as he screams in pure agony. His skin peeling off from the blistering heat. A Fire spell has the power of a low-tier Fira spell at that range. Nothing a simple Cura or Curaga could fix. A Potion wouldn't be enough to heal him now. I slowly walk away, a few feet away from the small post the Light Faction made. I saw someone in some high-end clothes, I assume they are a commander. Among the people there, I see Ayako preparing to head out onto the field. I assume because I see her grabbing a Potion or two.

"Ayako Tsumura!" I yell out to grab her attention. It proves to be successful as she stares at me with an angry look.  
"You again?" she says in disgust as she walks over to me with her Keyblade in hand. Her Keyblade gives off an aura of light, with a huge emphasis on white on the design aspect.  
"I fought my way over here to answer that question one month ago," I readied my weapon.  
"Let me see if I can recall.. 'where is your free will,' right?" she said, and I nod in response.  
"My objective was to kill the students, but I disobeyed that so I can fight you with no worries. All in order to fight the one girl who made my troublesome emotions emerge from within," I made eye contact with her, proving my determination.  
"You proved that you are capable of free will. But I wonder, how long will it last? Because to me, you're just a dog who finally removed his leash," she smiles mockingly.  
".. You better prepare yourself now, Tsumura. Because I'm not leaving without your head," I openly threaten her.  
"Will you live up to those words, I wonder?" she mischievously smiles and moves into a fighting stance, spreading her legs and holding her weapon firmly at her side.

"You're one of the few people on par with my abilities, I'll break you and your words!" I yell and dash towards her to strike first. She parried my attack and knocked me back a few feet. She extended her arm in my direction, her pose seems to intend the preparation of a magic attack. "Triple Firaga!" she yelled. My predictions were correct, the three orbs of fire circled the tip of her Keyblade and finally projected themselves at me. I jump in her direction, curling my body into a ball and rolling a few feet to avoid her attack. But the Firaga orbs circled around and hit me in the back. I flinch from the burning fire that scorched my back. It was as if I was walking on burning coal during training, falling over and burning my back. I didn't anticipate that Triple Firaga would have homing properties to them. That was my mistake and my mistake alone. These mistakes would eventually kill me.

"What's wrong? Done already? I thought you were going to slice my head off. I had high hopes for you, but I am severely disappointed," she mocks me with a smile.

I have to think of a plan fast. I was too reckless on the field. I used up some of my valuable resources trying to take down the fodder. Now that I am up against the main course, I can't muster my strength up. I didn't have enough time to recover from training, now this. I sprung headfirst without a plan. Just the urge for settling the score with this girl and lock away my useless emotions. "I'm.. just getting started," my tone was hoarse. I get up from the ground and spread my feet a bit to level myself. I reach into the pocket of my blazer and take out a small bottle. I take out the cork that sealed the contents and drank the liquid. At that moment, the effects of the healing potion took effect, the pain from the blistering fire disappeared and I felt better. The reconstruction of my cells formed my skin back together in a second.

"Now then, I'm back up to full stamina. Time for me to go all out, Tsumura," I point my weapon towards her.  
"Honestly, you're an idiot. Coming in without a plan.. well, I'll let it slide, for now, show me what the Darkness Faction offers, pawn!" she continues to mock me.

At least learn my name, I thought.

"Thundaga Shot," I spread my feet back and I grab the handle of my weapon with both hands. A huge orb of around three meters formed at the tip of my Keyblade. A yellow orb of crackling electricity. I swung my Keyblade in an act of throwing a ball, to launch the projectile at her. Upon contact, a cloud of smoke emerged around us, as soon as that happened, I jumped into the air so I can get a view from above. I spread my body open to hover for a bit. A gust of wind appeared from the center of the cloud and blew all of it away. As expected, Ayako would blow it away.

"A distraction..!" she gasped.  
"Aerial Attack Technique, Diving Slash," I suspend the force that kept me in the air and prepares to dive with my arm pulled back, preparing for a slash. I knock her back a few inches with the attack. Her face screaming with surprise from my sudden attack. I stand up and swung my Two Become One at her repeatedly. As if on instinct, she cast a weak Reflect shield in front of her. I could tell it was weak because my weapon wasn't being reflected back to me and she could use the shield repeatedly. All I could do is put the pressure on her and hope for the shield to break. Yuro was powerless when I used this strategy. Theoretically, it can work on her. But I held off it thinking she might use a normal Reflect. But that wouldn't be enough to stop me. So she used a weak Reflect that she can consciously use without tiring out. This would me she is buying time for herself to think of a counter to this strategy. Then she can initiate that surprise attack while I'm busy bashing away at her shield like a fool. Coming to that conclusion, I back away from her.

"..." a few seconds of silence pass. She was intently staring at me, thinking that I'll restart my onslaught if she drops the Reflect. "What are you doing?" she asks. I stand there dumbfounded for a second.  
"Huh?"  
"What are you doing?" she repeats.  
"What do you mean?" I ask.  
"I don't understand your intention of coming her just to fight me. It has to something more than 'settling the score', it's more than that." Her statement was spot on.

"Yeah. It's more than a simple competition," I said. I have no clear understanding of myself, I'm constantly been in a conflict with myself ever since. I have no idea what I am doing with my life. All I have been doing up to an hour ago was obeying orders. Now that I have disobeyed those orders, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm simply a slave with no master. Plus, with these emotions surging up from me all of sudden, it's hard to express myself anymore. hotheaded, sulky, happiness, dread, cold and doubt; these emotions reflect my actions. I feel like my personality is all over the place, I don't feel like myself. At one instance, I'm happy, in another, I brimming with irritation, then doubting myself and my those around me and so forth. There is one person who lit up this path for me. She lit the path that'll bring me to interact with others. Ayako Tsumura, the woman who filled a hole in my cold, empty heart that lacked warm substance.

"I'm here to fulfill my curiosity," I continued. I want to learn more about myself, I want to walk down this new road that has been laid out for me. I take a step forward, "because the woman who made me lust for this fulfillment of self is right in front of me."

"..." she stood there in astonishment. She didn't expect this. "..I did..?" she asks. I nod, "Yeah. Because of you, my emotions are spiraling all over the place. Never before have I ever felt this way. Being unable to express them properly yet, knowing they exist is the most annoying thing. I can't even think straight. I've been acting on impulse ever since I'm all over the place. There is no exact definition of me. It's exactly as you say, I am a dog who just got his leash released. I'm a stray with no understanding of anything. That's why I came her, seeking for answers."

My prior thinking was to kill her in an attempt to push these emotions back down. But putting all the events that happened so far in my otherwise uneventful student-soldier training academy life, this change started because of her. Killing her won't make a difference, either is sparing her. All I have to do is accept it and walk down this new, fresh road that paved over the old, rocky one.

She smiles, "Answers? I'm honored to have you say that, now we can fight on equal ground now."

I only realized my problems by talking to her through fighting. If that's the case, then by experience I'll uncover those truths one by one. But one thing I'm still uncertain about, how can she change me? How did I come to this conclusion just from fighting her? Is it through understanding?

I zoned out for a bit, thinking too deep into this topic.

"Kazu Yuuki, I'll acknowledge you," she said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Alright.. here I go," both of us dash at the same time, knocking each other back and forth with the force of our blades. We were standing on equal ground at this point, we are rivals who have come to understand the other. That may be the case for her, but I don't know a thing about her, and just looking at her strength peaks my curiosity. I knew nothing about her, her past, what drives her, or who she really is. All the more I think about it, makes me want to know. For some reason, she made my emotions swell up with her words, I want to know how she did it, and now I want to know more about her. We are frenemies, slowly becoming frenemies.

In the background of the night sky and the moon that illuminated the ground we stand on, I see my comrades, fighting against Ayako's comrades. The essence of battle, the exhilaration of fighting. I couldn't bring myself to even kill her if I got the chance because I want to know more about her.

I pulled my arm back, flipping my Keyblade so I'm wielding it backhanded. I lock my sight on Ayako, and she does the same. "Zantetsuken," we dash at blinding speed, to the onlooker of the move, it would seem like we vanished out of thin air, but in reality, we moved at an impossible speed for a single slash. It's a strong move used to finish off opponents in one hit, meant as a finishing attack. At the end of the dash, we reappear with our arms extended towards the sky. Our pose suggests that we were stricken. Not even a second after we reappear, the grass in our path disintegrates and leaves the dirt, then I start feeling a sharp pain in the side of my stomach. I can only assume our attacks made contact. I fall to the ground in pain. I steal a glance behind me and see Ayako is on her knees as well.

"... Because I want to be a person," I say to myself as I continue my previous trail of thoughts.

The pain from the attack made me immobile, my breathing became thin and I felt like some force was restricting my respiratory system. I look around, and I see my acquaintance, Yuro calls out to me. I look all around me, some casualties on both sides have occurred... but that's too be expected, I guess.

Yuro grabbed me and pulled my arm around his shoulders and he helped me stand on my feet. I steal a glance at Ayako, and I see a boy do the same.

"Attention, students of Enlightenment Academy!" a woman yelled into a microphone, which reverberated the sound throughout the battlefield. In an instant, the fighting stopped.  
"A battle was well fought today. All students, retreat back to the Light Faction and take all injured students. The dead will be left behind to lighten the load."

I can only assume that she must be the Light Faction's Commander. Yuro dragged me all the way back to the academy, and I see the Enlightment Academy students run past me carrying their comrades on their backs, ignoring the rest of us and ran back to their camp.

"Kazu Yuuki," Emigrace called out to me through my earpiece.  
"..What..?" I groan.  
"Report to my office afterward."  
"..Understood."

We finally regrouped with the remaining students of the academy. It seems we had thirty-six deaths and one-hundred-one injured, I was one of the injured. I healed myself with a Curaga spell. It has the same effect as a Potion but is more effective with healing. However, it drains your entire mana supply and you have to wait for it to recharge. Because of that, the Cure spell chain is only used in emergency situations, as magic is highly valued for their versatile use in battle and ranged attacks.

I have Yuro let go of me, and the day after, I reported to Emigrace's office.

I lowered myself into the cushioned chair, after waiting for about fifty seconds, she finally began talking.

"Regarding the battle from yesterday.." she began but stopped dead in her tracks as she flipped through some of the papers she was holding, and looked at me with a shocked expression which was a bit funny. She continued, "... you injured eight students and one of them was Ayako Tsumura, the target objective from your failed assassination mission one month back."  
I nod sharply, "Well, what about it?"  
"There are a couple things wrong here. Firstly, only eight students? I thought you were tasked to kill them, not injure them, am I wrong?" she tilted her head in confusion.  
"No, you're not wrong. I just wanted to fight Ayako, but those seven got in my way, so I did my best to save time. Resulting in me knocking them out," I try to explain carefully, but the careless factor of what occurred during those events remained evident in my voice.  
"I'm not being paid enough to add your actions in your missions onto my workload. This isn't in my jurisdiction," she slammed the papers on her desk and frowned at me.

She seems very stressed today, from her ruffled suit and messy hair, she hasn't been home in days, maybe even weeks. Out of my own selfish desire, I went to fight Ayako, which caused this mess. Normally she would "half-ass" the work if I did the mission correctly. Since I disobeyed orders and acted according to what I wanted to do, she's stressing over it. I can't blame her since it's her responsibility for what I do and what happens to me.

"But seriously, why are you so hung up on this Ayako girl? What did she do that made you want to fight her so badly? Including on the warfield, what is up with you lately!?" she finally snapped from stress.  
"Ehhh.. I wouldn't say anything is out of the ordinary today," I lied, of course.

Something was definitely wrong, for the sake of Emigrace's stress load. I didn't want her to worry about it anytime soon.

"Are you mocking me?" she glared.  
"Mocking? How?" I asked.

I guess she saw through my obvious lie. Well, I wasn't the best liar anyway.

She sighed, "You know, you can't lie your way outta this that easily. We aren't idiots here."  
"I'm just confused, is all," I vaguely explain.

I hoped that I can be as vague as possible to annoy her to the point that she wouldn't want to continue. Which would lead her to change the topic? I guess this shows how much I wanted to avoid the subject.

"Confused? About what?" she persisted.  
"... About myself. Now, are we done here? I want to go back to the previous topic if possible. I feel uncomfortable discussing this."

I might have jumped the gun by saying it was uncomfortable.

"Alright. I don't have enough tolerance to start interrogating you. There are other people that are fit for that job anyway," she leaned back in her chair.  
A tough sounding voice came from the direction of the door, "Emigrace. It's me, Ace."  
"Come on in! That was perfect timing, by the way, I was getting tired dealing with him today... haha."

Her fake laugh was so obvious it hurts.

I looked at me, and a man of average build stepped into the office. He had a neat suit on, with highly combed hair. I assumed he just came from a council meeting if the Head of Mission Management came in dressed like that.

"Oh. By 'him' you, of course, mean our school's trained dog. My sorry to have kept you waiting, Emigrace and Operative Yuuki."

A dog? At least show some more respect, I'm at least capable of knowing that much.

".. Not at all," I bitterly said.  
"Well then, I heard he has been doing poorly as of late. More recently, the small battle from yesterday. But one thing puzzles me: why did the Light Faction advance and challenge us directly?" he held a finger up to his chin and gazed up at the ceiling.  
"What do you mean?" Emigrace asked.

Given the respectful tone from her, Ace must be higher up the ranks.

"The Light Faction has been relatively passive. This is very strange. You do know the concept of Yin and Yang, correct?" Ace asked.  
"That old thing? A little bit."  
"Yin is normally passive and Yang is active. Yin is the white dot traveling within the dark. Yang is the dark dot traveling in the white. Yin is supposedly the Light Faction according to beliefs from our ancestors. But this is increasingly strange. lately, the Light Faction has been more active than us. Is it possible that the Yin and Yang, according to religious belief, to change places?" Ace was practically mumbling to himself at this point. Tapping his foot and gripping the tip of his chin to be lost in deep thought.  
"What do you mean... by Yin and Yang?" I asked, curious.  
"Oh. Our ancestors had a belief that of Yin and Yang. A belief on how they are interconnected or even interrelated, despite being the opposite. That nothing is absolute over the other, everything is in peace and harmony. Those were the philosophical teachings from our ancestors. Believing that we needed to be separated, our ancestors split up and eventually erected the Darkness which is Yang, the other erected the Light, Yin. We were supposed to be in peace and harmony with the other. But lately, we have been putting in all our efforts in disrupting that balance and now the Light Faction is now on the active while we remained on standby. It's almost as if the roles have switched. Funny, ain't it?" he smiled.

Have the roles switched? True, that's rather strange. But what's even more out of the ordinary is that we are defying the lesson taught to us by our ancestors.

"No respect for the dead, I see," I said out loud.  
"Hahaha.. I suppose. Well, what do you think Emigrace?" Ace turned to Emigrace, who had her arms crossed the entire time.  
"I agree that it's rather strange. I guess this means that the Light Faction is growing stronger, possibly stronger than our top members. Which is quite bad," Emigrace glared at me, as if I kicked her dog right in front of her."Yes?" I answered back in a monotone voice.  
"I'd like you to be the leader of a group mission that will be scheduled for the following week, starting tomorrow. Your team will be the entire elite squad you had yet to meet," he said and moved his arm in the direction of the door, "Come in, everyone."

Five students walked, almost instantly, as if Ace told them to wait there till he called them in.

"The four current seats of the Elite Division in the academy have gathered. First, the girl with the uninterested expression, Scarlet Rose. Second, a happy-go-lucky girl, Xiu Li. Third, a girl with a glaring stare that would be enough to send a very soft, timid guy in tears, Selena Rose, the younger sister of Scarlet Rose. Fourth, the truant of the group with social problems, Kazu Yuuki. Finally, the fifth person is the positive, caring student that accepts himself as a dimwit, Yuro Lakewood. Although he isn't one of the elites yet, I made a special offer: if he can pass this mission on an equal level with his peers here, he can advance," he introduces them.

'Isn't that.. out of your job jurisdiction?' I wanted to say that, but I kept it to myself and went along. Looking at the rest of the group that just walked in, they seem to be insulted by the way Ace introduced them. It was understandable, to say the least.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Kazu Yuuki," I said, trying to be welcoming.  
"Nice seeing you here, Kazu. At least there is someone here I know that doesn't totally hate my guts! Hahahaha..." his nervous laughter echoes throughout the room as he turns to Selena, who gives him a menacing glare that made him yelp in terror.  
"Nice of them to be conveniently there when you need to come out," I looked at Ace, who laughed in response to my empty-handed comment.

Although, Yuro is the only one I actually know in the group. That wouldn't be the case if I attempted to be social in the academy, but due to orders from the high brass and Emigrace herself, that wasn't possible until recently. In fact, I can feel Emigrace's gaze on me, to which I can assume a face of pure irritation seeing that I made friends with someone which is in violation of my agreement with her.

I turn around to face her, and sure enough, I was correct. She quickly changes her expression to a faked smile and says, "Kazu, when did you meet Mr. Lakewood?" judging from her tone, she is trying her hardest trying not to snap at me on the spot for the second time today.

"Oh! Let me answer that, Ms! I was his training partner during his one month of recuperation," Yuro answers quickly like an excited little boy who just got called on by the teacher for the first time in class.

My first thought: are you an idiot?  
Which, from my punishment one month ago, I'd already confirmed that. But his dimwitted behavior seems to be stuck in my first impression on him. While he is quite the role model for the students out there in this academy to "not give up" isn't in his moral code. He even motivates struggling students to improve, even going as far as to train with them and helping them improve their weak points. He may be dimwitted, but there is more to him that meets the eye.

"What did we say about not making unnecessary acquaintances?" her voice gave off a malicious tone, most likely towards me and Yuro.  
"'We?'" I questioned.  
"She means the brass and herself," Ace confirmed.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group stood in awkward silence as Emigrace was ready to kill me with her bare hands, as Yuro unintentionally added more stress on the now one-hundred-pound weight that sits on her shoulders because of me.

Still, I wonder what will become of me in the upcoming days. I still need answers, I guess those will be slowly be revealed as I continue my days. Well, only time will tell.

 **END**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 _ **COMMUNICATION**_


	5. Chapter 5 - COMMUNICATION

**ARC I:**

 **Antinomy**

 **Chapter V**

 _ **COMMUNICATION**_

The sun was setting soon, but the sunlight wasn't shining over us like a blanket from god himself, no, it was already cloudy when we arrived in this area. The Illusion Academy was surrounded by mountains, this is the first time we attempted to embark on huge missions like these since the Heartless in this area would be too tough for other students. But due to the sudden improvement in almost every student in the academy, thanks to Yuro's inspirational presence, we were able to finally hunt Heartless here as a new mission location. The mountaintops have huge forests lining all over, there were small caves that often led into dead ends here and there, but these spots can be used for recon and the cliffs are an ideal spying location on the academy if one would need a bird's eye view of the structure of the entire thing. Luckily, there were no signs of battle on these mountains from the look of it, so I don't think the Light Faction actually scaled these mountains before, even if they did, the Heartless would catch them by surprise.  
We didn't know anything about each other, yet we had to survive this ridiculous mission set up by Ace. I call it ridiculous because it's meaningless to me. But I suppose it was important enough for the Calamity Project preparation steps to issue. From what Ace told me, it was to build a bond with people we would work together within the Calamity Project's final phase. An exercise not only fitted to create relationships with people we are not familiar with, but also to gather materials from unknown Heartless to use in expendable creation. The "bonding with other squad members" was just an excuse for us to go on a hunting mission. Although it would allow me to at least open up to a few of them, so I guess it is important. Sheesh, I just said it was an excuse, now I think it's important, talk about hypocrisy.

"Hey guys," whispered Yuro, "look over there," he pointed to a huge clearing in the forest, which was just a few meters away.  
"What about it?" Selena asked, looking over to Yuro.  
"Want to head over there? To rest?" Yuro suggested.

We all looked at each other and nodded back to Yuro. In response, all he did was fist-pump with a happy look on his face. We that settled, we slowly made our way to the clearing, trying not to make as much noise as possible.  
Why? Simply, the Heartless in this area seems to have a higher aggregation rate than the ones we previously encountered. It's almost impossible to get the upper hand on these guys, and as a result, tougher battles with more diligent enemies. I'll admit, it made battles more interesting and we will have to cooperate at some point.  
As we were about to enter the clearing, I stopped dead in my tracks, looking across from us and scanning the wide clearing, there seem to be small boulders scattered around the area, and what seems to be a large black vortex swirling in the center. All of it put up red flags in my mind. I felt the cold sweat run down my forehead, and the weight of the backpacks we all brought just for food, yeah, food only. They expected us to be real soldiers and camp out in a ditch or something. But that's beside the point, red flags rose in my mind, telling me not to go there. It was painfully obvious that it was a bad place to go in. My teammates caught wind of my sudden stop, they looked at me in confusion.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Yuro asked.  
"... I don't think we should go in there," I say, looking down to my feet in bewilderment.  
"I don't see a problem with it," Selena tonelessly said.  
"But~, there is a strange vortex in the center, Maybe that's why Kazu's scared," Xiu held a finger up to her lip and smiled in a carefree tone.  
"Not really panicked.. but yes. I'm a bit worried that something bad will happen if we walk into that clearing," I say, finally gaining my composure.  
"Do you doubt our abilities?" Scarlet asked, crossing her arms.  
"Huh?" I look at her, dumbfounded.  
"Don't doubt our abilities, even if you haven't seen us fight a boss Heartless yet, we are in the Elite Division for a reason." she glared into my eyes as if looking through my soul.

Just from looking into her eyes, I can sense that she is serious about this, but knowing that we aren't coordinated at all, still worries me. I don't think we can win based on pure strength at all, we need to have a strategy for whatever is waiting in that clearing. I glance to my teammates, it seems like they trust in whatever strength they have. Honestly, we are such idiots for believing in our skills alone without a plan. I guess that's what makes us kids.

I look back to Scarlet and give her a sharp nod, "Alright. But we need to form a plan at least."  
She shook her head in denial, "We don't have time for that."  
"Huh? Of course, we have time for that. It's not like the Heartless is going to disappear on us," I argue.  
"I second this, we need a plan. Because I don't want to wind up as swiss cheese during the fight," Yuro concurred.  
"I'm siding with my sister on this one. Yuuki, I already have faith in mine and my sister's strength, we don't need a plan," Selena said in a cold tone.  
"Are you guys for real? Just because you have seen your sister in battle, doesn't mean we have! At least, not fighting a boss Heartless, but still...!" Yuro stumbled on his words.  
"So what? You fought Yuuki yourself, haven't you?! And you fought me before, and I don't see a problem! The only person that doesn't know our strength is Mr. Robot here!" Selena pointed at me, with her eyes brimming with disgust.  
"True. But I wish to cover all potential problems in our formation and think about a plan," I continue to suggest, seeing as raising my voice will make more problems.  
"We don't need a plan!" Selena continued to protest like a child who doesn't get their way.  
"We need a plan!" Yuro protests in a similar way.  
I turn to Xiu, who is strangely passive about the entire situation. She noticed me staring at her, I made a face that can be easily read as, "what are you doing?" and her reaction was along the lines of: "eh?! n-nothing really..!" seeing as she was playing with her fingers and looking down. I decided to speak up, "Xiu? Your opinion?" I asked.  
"U-um.. not really. I just don't want to rile anyone up any further. Because you know, Yuro and Selena often get into arguments all the time. And I don't want to intervene since I don't want to get swept up in the storm. Even Selena's older sister knows this," Xiu answered and pointed to Scarlet, who is scratching her cheek and not engaging in the shouting battle Yuro and Selena were having.  
"... I see... In any case, let's just stop this pointless bickering and calm down," I try to assess the situation by stepping in between them.  
"Move it!" both of them yelled in unison, shoving me out of the way and carrying on with their argument.  
I stumbled a bit but kept my balance and center of gravity so I wouldn't fall over.  
"I don't think they're going to stop anytime soon," I sighed heavily. I looked at the others who weren't arguing and they nodded in agreement.

After a minute or two, we finally settled down. But since they wanted to go head first into battle, and Xiu didn't want to pick sides. Me and Yuro, clearly not wanting to pick another yelling battle with them, we went in without a plan. Which... ended up with us in this huge mess. But that's to be expected since not everything can go your way sometimes.

* * *

Boom, and just like that, the entire situation changed.  
"Shit! it's regenerating!" Scarlet shouted out.  
The Heartless that stood before us had regeneration properties. It's yellow eyes glowing brightly in the otherwise dark, rainy night. It was another titanic Heartless, with claw-like fingers, a slim body, and pointed feet. Its skin was jet black. Its face was that resembling the face of a dog, it looked like a godly figure that people who were unaccustomed to today's culture would worship.

"Don't just stand there! Take 'em out!" Yuro yelled, charging in for an attack on its ankles. He was aiming to knock it down to its knees.  
It fell down on its knees as Yuro struck both of its ankles with multiple slashes. We all backed away from it, around ten feet away, assuming it'll counterattack as soon as we get close to it.  
"Thundaga!" Selena and Scarlet shouted, pointing their Keyblades into the air, casting a lightning spell to strike the boss Heartless. Two individual lightning strikes come down from the sky and strike the enemy.  
"Raaaaarrrrrrr!" it writhes in pain as its entire body jolts up from the attack.  
We finally had it pinned down thanks to Yuro slashing at its ankles, now we were able to strike it with our magic.  
"Now! While its regenerating, attack with everything you got!" I yell, swinging my Two Become One in a horizontal line, creating an arc of fire and projecting it at the head while it's down.  
A cloud of smoke clouded my field of vision as it hit, but the Heartless roared in anger in response to the attack, I knew it wasn't over yet.  
We still didn't have any sort of formation, but we were so close to beating the beast. We finally turned the tables from a death trap of a battle. Thanks to Yuro, we were able to launch consecutive attacks at the enemy, but we cannot afford to let our guard down. I whipped up a quick Aero spell to expel the smoke clouds to deal more hits to ensure victory.

This was our reckless survival battle, a battle that would cost us our lives because of our own incompetence, such actions wouldn't be allowed on a real battlefield. I'm always been told to get the job done and go home, I never had any consideration for my teammates, because the hunting missions I was sent on with a team were so small, it was nothing on this magnitude. Here, I must build trust in each and every one of them, even if it's small, it's enough to get through the mission. If any of the higher-ups were here, I would be scolded on the spot.

Before I could process the situation around me, Yuro yelled at me, telling me to stop, I did as told and stopped in my tracks. I look at him in confusion, he points up in the air. Xiu jumped a good fifteen feet into the air, holding her Keyblade to her side, what was she aiming for? Is it...!?  
I gasp in realization, and looked at the Heartless, lines of smoke was apparent on the back of it. She was aiming for the core, the centerpiece of the Heartless. She's betting everything on raw luck. Once I reached that conclusion, I, of course, screamed.  
"Diving Attack Technique, Swan Descend!" Xiu screamed, descending down with her arm extended.  
She landed on the back of the Heartless, stabbing it from the pressure and force of gravity that aided in her descend to the ground. The Heartless wailed in pain.

"Is she aiming for the center? Is she for certain that'll kill it?" I said, with my mouth open in surprise.  
Scarlet laughed, "Hahaha... of course, we had a few theories to support this."  
"When did you...?" I turned to Scarlet.  
"We were suggesting it to her when you were busy with the smoke machine display. We noticed there seems to be a glowing pattern as it regenerates, a pink highlight that covers the entire body as it heals. This pink highlight expands from the center of the Heartless, and it covers the entire body and repeats until the healing is complete. This boss Heartless has a humanoid body shape, so figuring out the center wasn't that tough, " she explained in a dramatic tone, "reaching that conclusion, Yuuki, we intend for her to be our last resort!"  
"You're an idiot," was my initial response, but I decide to hold my tongue.

"...! Firaga!" Xiu yelled in desperation, casting a spell while her Keyblade was still impelled into the Heartless. From where she was standing, a fire erupted from the wound her Keyblade made with the strike. I could smell the smoke from here as it invaded my nasal system and burnt the inside of my nose. The horrid smell made me cover my nose with my left hand.

Is this the bond I missed while I was in my room? I ask myself. I look at the others behind me, they're cheering with happy expressions, the burnt marks on their faces and uniforms were apparent. Despite that, they cheered with their eyes filled with trust. They trusted that Xiu will get the job done, but what am I doing? I don't know a thing about them, except Yuro. I'm just a stranger to them. No motivation, no drive, and no trust. The only thing I can do is cheer like the rest.

"Xiu! Do it!" I cupped my hands and screamed. Xiu heard me, she nodded and stood up.  
She dragged her weapon across the skin and out of the shoulder blade of the Heartless' body. She looked at us in anticipation, she expected us to finish it, I could tell by her sudden serious expression in her eyes.  
"Yuuki! Rose sisters! Lakewood!" she yelled out dramatically.  
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Selena responded confidently and jumped on the body of the Heartless along with her sister, leaving me and Yuro in confusion.  
They held out their hands to us, "Aren't you coming with us?" they wholeheartedly welcomed.  
"..." Yuro and I nodded to each other and grabbed onto their hands and supported us in getting on the back of the Heartless.  
"Now do you see? We didn't need a plan... that argument before was pointless," Selena said, looking at me and Yuro.  
"...I suppose," I hung my head.  
"Why are you so down? We supposed to be a team, right?" Scarlet said to reassure me, her welcoming tone struck me like an arrow to the chest. For some reason, it was satisfying to hear.  
"... You accept us?" I asked. I referred to both me and Yuro, as we were unsure. Since to them, we must be strangers intruding on their territory.  
"Of course, we do," Scarlet smiled, her soft voice and tone piercing me.  
I nod sharply in response, "Let's finish it up, then."

We summon our Keyblades again and stab the Heartless' jet black skin. From the cracks that we made with our weapons, clouds of dark smoke begin to rise from the body. We run across the back, dragging our weapons through its skin. Jumping off it, Xiu was waiting on the other side to finish the job.

"Haah!" she screamed, slashing it multiple times at blinding speed. We landed on the ground behind her, standing up and looking back.

The Heartless began to struggle, as Xiu deals the last strike, the body of the Heartless explodes into a cloud of black smoke. It cleared up almost instantly as if someone placed a fan in the clearing to blow it away as soon as we defeated it. In the center of the clearing, the materials it dropped appeared. I walked over to grab them; twenty Dark Shards, one unidentifiable material which appeared to be colored in cobalt blue, and five Dark Gems.

I relay the material count to Emigrace over my earpiece, I switch the microphone off and return to the group waiting at a nearby boulder.

"Good work," I say to them.  
"That's all you have to say? Despite the traces of doubt, you had for us back there?" Selena said, seemingly annoyed.  
"That's right. I'm sorry for doubting your strength. I'm just not used to interacting with others yet."  
"Oh, that's completely fine," Xiu said, forgivingly.  
"It is?" I said, clearly taken aback.  
"Yeah. You're pretty infamous for being socially awkward at school anyway. Also, I heard from Selena that you never show up to the meetings, so it's understandable that you're hopeless in communication," Yuro said, laid back as usual.  
"The way you say it makes him seem like a lost pup," Selena said in a low tone.  
"It's fine. Yuro isn't too far off," I said, scratching the back of my head.  
So I lacked in communication, huh? I thought. Maybe what I was missing from my life was interaction with others, and I haven't really felt like a person before. But now that I'm talking to them, I'm having fun spending time with them like this, it's completely different than the times I would do solo missions. It started because of Ayako because I interacted with her in my first mission into the Enlightenment Academy in the Light Faction, I wasn't really a person, just a "robot who does as he is told," as others describe me. Because of my interactions, my emotions are swelling up inside me, now I'm a mess of conflicting emotions and act like completely different people. It's confusing and frustrating, honestly. Since I have a lack of knowledge in this field so I can't go far in depth with this, only as far as the lessons I'm taught in class and ones from Emigrace herself. Even from my observations as a bystander, I can tell a few things about everyone I meet after a few days or hours of meeting them. Yuro, a happy-go-lucky idiot whose morals motivate others to succeed. Selena, a serious individual who is quite reckless. Scarlet, a more matured version of Selena, but is more on the happy side of things. Xiu, a clumsy girl who doesn't hold back when she needs to do what she needs to do to aid in the victory of her friends. This group is certainly a bunch of interesting people, clearly with their own negatives and positives. My observations might not be on point, but I have been told many times by Emigrace that there is more to a person than what they portray themselves as. I may not know much about myself, but I feel like I'm welcomed in this strange group of people who are so different from me. Well, hopefully, I'm not too influenced by them like others in fictional novels.  
I felt something cold drop down my shirt. I rubbed the back of my blazer in reaction, then feeling more drops, on the top of my head, I look up into the cloudy sky. The moon wasn't in sight anymore, it was completely covered up by the dark gray clouds as the cold downpour of rain doused us.

"...We should find shelter, quick," I suggested, shivering.

We all nod in agreement and dash back into the woods and trail to a nearby cave in the mountains.  
The dirty water splashed beneath our feet as we ran through the wood, seeking shelter from the sudden downpour. We were already tired from the long day of hunting, and we have to deal with this. I suppose it's a trail of endurance that we must face as soldiers. To be correct, student-soldiers.  
I could hear the ragged breath of my teammates as we desperately ran through the leaves of the surrounding wildlife. Our shoes weren't made for such terrain, so naturally, we had a few slip and fall face-first into the muddy dirt, but we stood back up as much as we had to.  
The sound of thunder echoes in the distance, illuminating the sky.  
"..!" Scarlet yelped in panic.  
We were cold, tired, and most of all, hungry. It really is a tough time for soldiers on a hunting mission. We had to bear with it, a pain we didn't ever want to experience. But that was expected to happen eventually when we enrolled into this school.

We finally manage to get out of the forest, there was a small cave ahead of us, with the rain coming down harder on us. We have no choice but to duck in there and rest up.

Once we settled in, we gathered around a single oil lantern for warmth. Despite our wishes for warmth, it would never come from an oil lamp. So we sat there, in cold silence. A few stomachs growling for food, I was about to open my mouth to suggest we start eating, but Selena opens hers first, "Hey," Selena called out, breaking the silence.

"What?" Yuro asked, there is a noticeable shake in his voice.  
"What are we doing?" she asked, curling herself in a ball on the ground.  
"Good question. I don't have an answer to that," I replied silently.  
"Do you think we should talk about a few things to break this gloomy tone?" Xiu suggested.  
"Like?" Scarlet wondered, leaning in forward, interested.  
"So anyone here has any love interests?" Xiu mischievously asked.  
At that moment, I knew we wouldn't be eating for a long time.  
"Don't put such forceful topics into this awkward situation!" Selena protested in an angry tone.  
This whole conversation is growing increasingly awkward by the minute, I thought. I should just leave them be and spectate. This will be a learning experience for me, a chance to see everyone in their relaxed state. A tad bit earlier than expected, but no complaints.  
"You wanted someone to break the ice, and now you're protesting? Talk about hard to please!" Xiu folded her arms and pouted.  
"There are other ways to 'break the ice' your method was just uncomfortable!" Selena continued to resist.  
"Is it because my sister has someone she likes?" Scarlet pressed the tip of her bottom lip with her index finger and narrowed her eyes on Selena.

This must be some form of "girl talk" as Emigrace calls it. In these conversations, girls would talk about the most random things and get fussy about sensitive topics, in this case, someone's love life. I don't even want to get myself wrapped up in this nonsense, but it does provide some sort of insight on who these people are. At one point, they're flat as a brick, but in another, they're booming with energy to the point of it being difficult to keep track of their true colors. People are amazing life forms.

"D-don't be silly, big sis!" Selena stuttered, a flustered look on her face as she waved both of her hands in front of her.  
"I can read you like a book," Scarlet smiled.  
"Is that supposed to be some sort of composure!? Because it's not helping in such a forced attempt at humoring us!" Selena wailed into high heavens.  
"Selena is clearly a judgemental type of person," I said out loud and nodded to myself, "uh-huh. I certainly wouldn't want her in an espionage mission."  
Of course, I said that on purpose. Since from past experiences, to name one, Emigrace, describing a person in a way they wouldn't want to be would anger them. For an awkward conversation, this is proving quite entertaining.  
"No one asked for a robot's opinion!" Selena, who is clearly agitated to the point beyond disbelief.  
"Too much protesting is suspicious," Xiu, who remained quiet up to now spoke up.  
"Shut it!" Selena roared.  
"You can tell your sister, I won't judge," Scarlet stood up from her spot on the cold stone floor to rest both her hands on Selena's shoulders. She locked her gaze on Selena, making her even more nervous with each passing second of silence.

Selena didn't say a thing, she was embarrassed but mostly angry. I have doubts that she likes someone, but as Emigrace did mention the fact we are teenagers in a school training students to be full-fledged soldiers. Teenagers going through puberty, as explained and lectured to us in class, a process that occurs to people between ages ten to twenty, where the body undergoes a complete change in preparation for adulthood. For males, testosterone hormone kicks in and hair starts growing in various places. Our voice gets seemingly deeper because of the change in our vocal cords, and we learn about the reproductive cycle-I guess I should stop there. Perhaps this is what people mean by me being a "robot," but I think I'm quite humorous... maybe.  
"Don't you have anything to say for yourself!?" Selena pointed at me, trying to avoid her sister's gaze.  
I snapped out of thoughts to reply, "nothing really, I'm just thinking about something Emigrace said."  
That last part slipped out. I tend to say what was on my mind when I'm deep in thought.  
"Emigrace? The Head of Recruitment?" Xiu asked, interested judging from her tone.  
"Yeah," I nod, "she's my caretaker."  
"Your what?" Selena leaned in, also interested.  
At least this drew away the awkward atmosphere of people's love lives, I thought.  
"My caretaker," I spoke louder. In response, everyone stood there like statues with open mouths.  
As expected, this will draw attention from the others, but they get a chance to learn more about me.  
"I dunno what to say to this," Yuro said, eyes wide open as he returned from the shadows that he was hiding in.  
"You appeared out of nowhere," I said, barely showing any surprise to his sudden appearance.  
"That's beside the point, what do you mean she's your caretaker?" Selena annoyingly demanded.  
"As I said it. She's. My. Caretaker," I tried to talk slower to push it into their thick skulls.  
"No, we get that. But explain how she took care of you?" Scarlet asked, more politely than her bashful younger sister.  
Sheesh, right to the point. I hardly remember anything in my past, I thought.  
"Well.. around seven years ago, she was on a scouting mission to find people to recruit, and she found me, and took me in to train and lecture. That about sums it up," I try to explain.

I hardly remember a thing, all I remember was that I was in the Light Faction and I was taken in by Emigrace at a young age. Any time between that and my first year in the Illusion Academy is a big mystery. Of course, I left out the Light Faction part, just in case it spurs any kind of resentment from the rest of them, which I wouldn't want, and certainly something Emigrace or Ace wouldn't want either. Yes, I would be lying to them with a small detail of my past, but it's better than possible resentment for being affiliated with the opposing faction in some way.

".. Anything else?" Xiu continued to persist, her eyes glittering with excitement.  
"Nope. I don't remember anything else after that anyway," I say, shrugging it off as if it was nothing.

Truth be told, it's wasn't nothing. I want to remember what I did for the past seven years. But every time I try to recall my lost memories, my head starts hurting and I lose that thought. It may be better to live in ignorance about my past. After all, ignorance is bliss, as my English professor would say often in his lectures.

"That sounds kinda fishy," Xiu said, looking doubtful.  
"It is what it is, don't blame me for not remembering. I have a bad memory, y'know?" I said sharply.  
I guess these country slangs are starting to stick in my head now, sheesh. What a pain, I thought.  
"Speaking of 'fishy' things," Yuro called from the corner he was idling in, "can we PLEASE start eating?" he groaned in pain, with both of his hands holding up against his stomach as if he's trying to push down his body's need for food.  
"Oh... hahaha... I guess we were so caught up in that conversation that I forgot to unpack the rations," Xiu nervously said, playing with her fingers as usual.  
"A forced conversation, I might add," I said coldly.  
"I couldn't help it! Selena was asking for one!" Xiu shot back at me.  
"That doesn't mean you had to open up with an uncomfortable topic," I said, again in a toneless voice.  
"Just drop it, we need to prioritize our hunger," Scarlet ordered with her demanding voice and firm presence.

At that moment, Xiu nodded and started taking out the rations out of the huge backpack she was carrying all the way here. I thankfully take my share of a water bottle, a few energy bars, and canned meat. What surprises me wasn't the saddening contents of the meal itself, it was how much authority Scarlet has over us. I suppose that is expected since she is the first seat in the Elite Division. Not that I'm jealous or anything, I would rather have it this way. It's too tiring giving orders to others, but that's how I see things. I'm usually the one being ordered around anyway, so I don't see any real need to change my position. Actually, now that I think about it, that sounds depressing from an outside view, doesn't it? ... I shouldn't think about it.

Once we all got our share, we pulled off the lid of the canned meat. I think a few of us gagged at the poor sight of the oval tin can being stuffed with pinkish meat. Oddly, with yellow textures in it. I couldn't tell if there was any smell at all, probably because of the long day. At this point, I don't think we cared what we were about to eat, we were hungry. If one were to reject eating this, it would most likely be Selena, due to her easily disgusted and agitated attitude towards things and Yuro. Then, I must prepare myself if Selena comes after any of our heads for fresh, human meat-that might not happen since I know that girl is at least capable of gulping down this... horrible excuse for a meal. Despite the long pause, it took us to even begin digging in; we started gorging it down as if we haven't eaten in weeks. I suppose we all had the same thought process, "maybe if I scarf all of this down my throat, the disgusting taste won't register to my brain," or maybe I'm being silly since I didn't even reach that conclusion myself, I was just hungry. After all, whenever I had to eat something I didn't like, Emigrace would forcefully push it down my throat if I was being remarkably unreasonable. For some reason, horrible life lessons from Emigrace are embedded into mind, yet what I actually did is still a fuzzy mess. Well, because of that, I have the need to gorge down everything in front of me, or else she'll force-feed me. From what I recall from such an important experience, it was really painful, knowing that she was shoving her hand full of food into my mouth.

Seriously, can I remember something meaningful about my past, and not something so unnecessary. Well, I suppose it reminded me that I was a picky eater, but that isn't as meaningful as what I would want to know. All of it frustrates me. Even though I couldn't express that on the outside, I felt it on the inside.

After finishing the meal, I placed on the ground next to me and grabbed the water bottle near me, twisting it open and enclosing my mouth all around the edges, holding up my head as I gulped down heavy amounts of water to refresh my body. I lowered my head and popped my lips off the top, sighing with relief, I take a short glance to the rest of my teammates. Who were still attempting to eat their canned grub. They haven't picked up on the fact that I've already finished, except for a half-full water bottle and two untouched energy bars. This group is certainly interesting, for having such a humorous conversation earlier, despite we almost died from that boss Heartless and had to trek in the heavy rain back there. It almost amuses me to think people can relax so quickly, well, this is a hunting mission, after all, on a real battlefield, I expect them to be tenser and on high-alert than this. We don't have any real problems to deal with at the moment, other than the lack of fire and soaked clothes. I guess they have no real problems at all, laughing and talking to each other as if it's a normal day at school. I focus my gaze on Yuro, who has been eating quietly for a while. It was weird. Normally, he'll be bursting with energy like he did a while back before we found the clearing. Now, he looks gloomy. I wonder if there's something on his mind. I walk over to him, slightly patting his back in a friendly manner, bending down to meet his eyes before speaking,

"Is something wrong?" I asked, still toneless.  
Yuro gulped down a bit of water before answering in a lowered tone, "Yes."  
So something is wrong. If I make one more push, maybe he'll tell me.  
"Want to talk about it?" I try to maintain a soft tone.  
He nods slowly and begins to talk, "the Calamity Project."  
I look at him with a confused look, "what about it?"  
"Is it really about building a utopia?" he asks, narrowing his eyes on me.

I froze up. What have they been telling them? Emigrace states it was for economic advancement and technological advancement, which is why we are fighting the Light Faction in the first place. It wasn't about the Yin Yang concept Ace mentioned, it was about our own advancement for the betterment of the human species. That's all they told me. But I didn't know they have been lying to the people outside of the Elite Division. What is this about a utopia? A utopia is commonly seen as "the perfect city," are they deceiving the public?

As soon as I was continuing deeper into these thoughts, I felt a sharp electrifying pain in my head. I grip my head with both of my hands, trying to regain control. Once I did, I forgot what I was thinking about. Frustrated, again, I ask Yuro what he meant, he replies,  
"They intend to create the perfect utopia by combining the two factions, but what I don't get is why we have to fight them," his eyes continuing to pierce me, "you understand, right?"  
I nod, "yeah," gripping the tip of my chin, I speak, "perhaps it's the belief of Yin and Yang."  
"Yin and Yang?" he asked, oblivious to the term.  
"It's the belief of two forces forever clashing, but will never join together. A force where both must co-exist. That's why we split up into Light and Darkness because our ancestors believed in that belief. The Light Faction wants to respect their ancestors and protect this balance, the Darkness Faction doesn't. The addition of 'Faction' to each of the forces came about when the Calamity Project started," I slowly explain in detail to him.  
"So it's just a political war between the both forces?" Yuro wondered, hoping for clarification for his own thoughts.  
"That's right. The Darkness Faction is trying to erase this belief to build a perfect utopia by joining together with the Light Faction," I say with a deadpan voice and stare.  
What am I saying? These aren't my thoughts. Why can't I do anything? What happened to the free will I've gained a few days ago? Did it vanish?  
I quickly snap back into reality, looking at the vision of Yuro staring at me with concern.  
"Kazu, can I tell you something?" he asked, looking away.  
"Huh? Sure," I nodded.  
"It's something about my past that's been bothering me," he whispered.

 **The future has been torn by antimony. You'll be the one to change it, with your power and those who support you.**

 **END**

 **NEXT TIME:**

 _ **THE STRUGGLE OF THE POOR**_

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello and happy July everyone! Please enjoy this fresh chapter I've prepared, and tell me on what I should improve on and what you liked. I'm open to criticism anytime.**


	6. Chapter 6 - THE STRUGGLE OF THE POOR

**ARC I:**

 **Antinomy**

 **Chapter VI**

 _ **THE STRUGGLE OF THE POOR**_

* * *

The downpour of the rain continues, the thunder shouting in the distance. The wind violently blowing, as if they were shrieking, and the trees, violently shaking from the force of the wind. An illusion comes to mind, can that wind blow into here, and send us into another world? That thought comes to mind with this sudden change in the relaxing atmosphere we just had a few moments ago. From laughter and the silly nature that comes with the exchanges of youth to the dreadful tense situation, where one word can turn things for the worse.

Yuro looked towards me, "Kazu," his serious tone, accompanied with his unfaltering gaze, "I have something that's been bothering me about my past, hear me out."  
"Sure. What is it?" I asked softly.

I lowered myself to sit down with him, then I looked at the others, who seem to be caught up in their own small talk, not bothering to interfere with our conversation. I assume they saw Yuro being gloomy and decided for me to comfort him, but that seems to be highly likely.

"It has something to do with the Calamity Project," he said, gripping the spoon he held tightly, "I just don't see how it was for a good cause.. just something about a utopia baffles me."

It seems the high council is keeping their true motives a secret and used the ruse of a "perfect society" to lie to the public; to make them think that his mission is for the greater good of both sides, when in reality, it is to conquer the other.

He continues, "seven years ago, that's when the first phase started, right?"  
I nod to him, as he continues.

* * *

 **Yuro's POV**

I was eight-years-old when the Calamity Project was announced, and ten-years-old when it started. I was still a little kid in grade school, helping out my parents at home, typical things any normal kid would do. My parents were poor, we lived on the poor side of the city, isolated from the rest. They had to balance three jobs just to live, and even I had to take up a job or two to help out even a little. I felt bad that I didn't contribute anything to my parents when they were paying for our living expenses at the time, of course, I didn't think about any of this at the age, I was... simply blaming myself for our living arrangement. I didn't show that to them or at school, I'd always try to slap a fake smile to hide all of it.

At home, it was a mess. There were clothes everywhere, dust cluttering the old, run-down furniture that made up the house I lived and loved. I wasn't at all miserable for the life I was given, I was sad that I might be an annoyance to them, but I wasn't like that to them at all. I loved them and my home, and they loved me back. Despite being told all that, I still kept that plastered smile on my face, and it integrated into my personality. Even at home, I would keep my disguise on, and pretend to be an idiot.

"Nnngh...! Aaahh!" I screamed falling on my face. My foot was caught in a hole and I tripped.  
"Uuugh..." I groaned, getting back up on my feet and smiled in front of my mom, who was generally concerned for my well-being. My parents were very overprotective of me, not that it was annoying, but they do show their affection and concern for me, which helped lighten the weight of guilt off my back during the time.  
"Are you okay, Yuro?" my mom asked, frantically coming to my side, checking if I had any bruises or not-aside from the ones I've already got from playing around with my friends in the slums.  
"Ya. I'm fine. No need to worry, mom," I said, giving her a dumb smile. She looked at me with relief written all over her face, she stood back up patted me on the head.  
"I'm glad to hear that. Sit tight while I get dinner," she smiled and ran back into the other room.

We didn't have much in the slums, no showers, no warm meals, nothing. We were all covered in the filth of the land. Kids around my age would be covered head-to-toe in dirt, cuts, you name it. As you can expect, kids in our area had to learn to stand up for themselves and fight "like true men," as they preached. I wasn't one of those kids who would beat everyone they see to a pulp, I'm the one being beaten. If you weren't strong, you were tagged as prey, if you are strong, you are tagged as predator; that was the system we kids had back in the day, and every time I would come home from school, all battered up and depressed looking, my parents would usually scream, that is, if they were home. Usually, one or none of my parents would be home by the time I get out of school. They do have three jobs, but they still have day offs, so I'm not always home alone. It was reassuring, but I still felt bad about our living conditions. I was blaming myself for basically no reason at the time, pretty stupid, huh? Anyway, it was tough dealing with everything back home, hence why I smile to hide my misery from my parents, classmates and teachers. I don't want them to be concerned about me, I truly wanted to get stronger, to help kids like me who are treated lesser than the tougher kids. My clothes would get torn from my daily beatings to the point that my clothes were merely a white torn t-shirt, the tear went through the front in a diagonal line, as if I was slashed by a sword, and old navy blue jean shorts with a few minor scratches and tears, but still in better condition than my shirt and upper body. It was horrible, but in the end, I tried to hide it all from my parents, keeping my problems to myself, so I can deal with them alone.

Well, it wasn't all that bad at home. The family dinner table would just explode with small talk and it was enjoyable for me. Nevermind the takeout food we have to order just to fill our stomachs, it was just enough to talk with my family; which gave me some sort of reassurance that my life wasn't all that bad.

The next day, I woke up peacefully to the sound of my mother's soft voice, "Yuro, I'm heading out to work. Your lunch is on the table, as always. Take care, dear."  
I arose from the ragged sheets that were my blanket, looking at her and nodding, "have a safe day."

She waved goodbye and walked out the front door, her hair flying in the cool breeze that blew it as she shut the old wooden door behind her. I yawned and got out of bed, changing from my torn outside clothes into my uniform: a white short sleeved dress shirt and black slacks, they were undamaged and almost in perfect condition. Fighting wasn't allowed on school grounds, and my parents made it a big deal to keep my uniform clean at all times. As expected of a kid, I obeyed and managed to keep my uniform clean for my time in grade school.

I picked up my backpack resting on my bedside, and stuffed my lunch inside, after hoisting it over my shoulder, I wandered towards the front door, upon opening it, I was greeted with a clean gust of air. I covered my eyes and closed the door behind me. From there, I would take my usual route to school. My mother would tell me to stick with a crowd, so no one would jump me. By her logic, if you were near a crowd, a group of bullies would tend to leave you alone. Going by my knowledge back then, I assumed they didn't want to get scolded by their parents or other adults. I ran into the main district of the area, which was lined with booths and small shops with a few early birds lining up to purchase goods. I ran past all the different booths, taking a right on the first intersection I saw, I am a good hour early for school so I didn't have to worry about bullies, but I had to take extra precautions to avoid getting my uniform dirty. Living poor is tough, but I had my own tricks to get by here, at least I was lucky enough to go to school, most kids in the slums weren't fortunate enough to go to school. I pitied them a bit as I ran past them on my morning run to school. They seem to be happy, so I decided not to pay them any serious attention.

My school was just an average one, it wasn't anything too fancy just your typical public school. I don't remember much about the appearance of this school, so I won't go into detail about that. It was just a wooden school building of two stories tall, nothing too major. At school, I was just a class clown, I made friends with a lot of people-well, friends would be the wrong word to describe it, I would say acquaintances-and because of that, hardly any enemies except for a few sour ones who don't like me. I never found out why, since I steer clear of them during recess and as soon school dismisses. I dashed into the building and climbed the noisy staircase and wandered into the second-floor hallway. Upon reaching the door for my classroom, I shook the doorknob and slowly opened it, an empty classroom greeted me, I stepped inside, leaving the door open behind me. I went over to my desk in the front row, closest to the door and lowered myself onto the seat, after resting my bag on the ground near me. We didn't have any assigned seats, but I took this for my advantage and seized control over the closest seat to the door ever since the day I enrolled, which would be two years ago. From what I remember, the classroom is small, only able to hold around ten to fifteen students. Many students would arrive at around the standard time of 7:30, and wait around and chat with each other till 8:00, which class would start. During this period, I would prepare for class and chat with anyone who struck up a conversation with me. There really isn't anyone to outstanding in my class that I remember, but most of them liked me and didn't see me as a bad person, which is good, since I didn't want anyone hating me, to the point that they wouldn't mind if I suddenly disappear.

Two class periods passed, and our teacher was suddenly called into the office, along with the rest of the teachers in the other classrooms. He came back around five minutes later and switched on the small television set in the corner all the way in the front of the classroom.

He turned to look at us, "now attention class. What I'm about to show you is a conference meeting broadcasted earlier today, Yami, a government official you all should be familiar with has announced a big plan he has for the Darkness. Our principal wants you, the students, to relay this message to your parents," his bored voice echoed into the seemingly quiet classroom.  
One student raised her hand, "why do we have to show our parents?"  
"Because it also concerns a few changes in your education," he said, taking out a DVD disc out of a tray and placing it into the disc player tray. A whirring sound rose for about five seconds, before the static display on screen switched to an office room, with the focus on Yami.  
"-Hello, to everyone who is watching this broadcast. After a discussion with the senators of the high council in the Darkness, I am now able to make my project public," he spoke in a stern, clear voice.  
"I am proud to announce the Calamity Project, an idea I proposed to advance the Darkness territory to greatest heights, in other to create a utopia for everyone to live in. This will be accomplished by merging our territory to those of the Light. This will be a chance, an opportunity to restart and start anew. Everyone is given a second chance in this perfect society that I will be funding. It may sound too good to be true, but I assure you, I can make it happen. So, two years from now, the project will start, and we will attempt to talk to the leaders of the Light, also at that time, I will make some adjustments to the education system of the youth. I won't go into further detail on the matter till the time comes."

Yami, our commander, proposed the Calamity Project to the entire Darkness territory that day, saying it was a utopia, a perfect place of peace and harmony as people believe it to be. Two years later, a mass war broke out, and my life from that point changed drastically. I was forced out of my home, out of my sanctuary, to go into a military private school, where the youth are trained to become soldiers, while still maintaining their academic career. Parents were against the idea, and started revolting, but due to Yami's influence, hardly any change was made. Yami stepped down from an official to become a military commander to lead us in a fight against the Light. As you know, both the Light and the Darkness had major casualties, which inevitably pushed back the Calamity Project. I, a boy who has a fake smile and guilted himself over nothing is now a military soldier acting as a student. My struggles during childhood stayed with me, I never forgot it, but I never saw my parents ever since that day. I was only in fifth grade at the time of my transfer. It made me miserable, being separated from my parents, but the instructors ensured me that they are being supported by my academic and combat success, I was thrilled when I heard that. Even so, I was not allowed to speak with them, but I believed in my instructor's words and advanced. My academics were around average and my combat curriculum above average, because of my solid determination that I was finally able to help my parents in some form or another, is finally becoming a reality, I felt happy again. People around me began to recognize my determination, those who were homesick moved out of that phase and focused on their studies, and those who were previously failing improved significantly.

In my eighth grade, I finally had a goal set in mind; I would make myself known to everyone at the academy, I would make people smile. With the mindset and morals of keeping people happy would lead all of us to a better future, influenced by Yami's Calamity Project idea, I pushed on in this cruel world that pushed me away from my family, hiding behind a fake smile that becomes genuine.

"I can't do it!" Weiss said, lowering his Treasure Trove down to his side.

That was my first tutoring lesson, on a bright sunny day on in the open field, no trees as far as the eye could see, only practice dummies and other students practicing around us. I was tasked to help Weiss in his combat training. He was a simple fellow, but his unwillingness and easily giving up attitude made it harder on himself, so I was sent to tutor him. I didn't have confidence that I would be able to help him, but I managed to muster up the strength to go with it.

I tapped his shoulder with my hand, "you can do it!" I smiled.  
"No, I can't. I'm a failure.." he dropped down to his knees, tears flowing from his eyes.

He almost reminded me of myself back then, I was depressed because I was away from my family, and I started lacking in my academic fields because of that. But once I started putting it aside, my instructors often said that they are impressed with my sudden improvement. Considering Weiss's situation, most likely he had some sort of goal in mind, but when the stress and pressure got to him, he eventually breaks down.

I lowered myself down and held his head up, so he would be forced to look me in the eye, "You're not a failure! Your mom and dad wouldn't want to see you like this, would they? Stand up, we have work to do." my tone was serious, but I mellowed it down to soft and welcoming at the end, topping it off with a smile.  
"..Don't give up?" he questioned, wiping away his tears with his sleeve.  
"Yeah." I nodded.  
"You're one bothersome tutor, y'know?" he said quietly.  
"I know. But I want to know, are you willing to improve?" I asked maintaining my friendly tone, but he knows I was serious with the questioned.  
"I'm willing," he smiled.  
That expression brought me joy, I felt accomplished helping him out. I jumped up in joy and fist pumped with both hands as if I beat my top score in a game.  
"That's great! Now let's put that newfound motivation to good use!" I said with an overjoyed tone.

We spent the next few hours improving on Weiss's weak points, we noticed it was time to rest in the dorms once we saw the sky shining a deep orange from the sun starting to set. We were getting our bags and walking through the school hallway when he questioned me about why he should never give up, I simply gave him this answer: "Why? it's obvious, isn't it? If you give up easily, you'll never accomplish a thing, and you'll end up trying out new things but never master them." He replied that I was mature for thinking that way, but I brushed it off since I didn't see myself as a mature kid. It was all natural, all from experience from childhood, as I often tried out new things in school and at home. Many people in my life were great influences and motivators to help me push forward, my parents, Weiss, and Commander Yami were one of them. My parents raised me to be a good person, Weiss reflected another form of me that could've existed, and Commander Yami's idea of a utopia for everyone to live in gave me a glimmer of hope in this world that I would make everyone and my parents happy through my efforts in making this project a reality. I had this mindset for the remainder of eighth grade and into Illusion Academy. I met Kazu after his failed assassination mission, his hopelessness made me interested in him, despite him being an Elite Division soldier, somehow, I was interested in him. Something about him struck me as mysterious and peeked my growing curiosity as we interacted. I started questioning the Calamity Project because of my interest in him, it's weird.

* * *

"Pretty weird, isn't it?" Yuro asked, a small smile on his face.

So, Yuro was heavily influenced by Commander Yami in his younger age, that's interesting. I was wondering about his past but looks like I didn't have to go into any extensive effort to accomplish this. At least I didn't pry the information out of him like I do from other people in the past. Well, I would be lying if I said I still don't do that, but it's an order to do so; I can't help it. Still, Yuro had a tough past, being a poor, only child, beat up almost every day and he had to hide it all with a smile. I wonder if the smile he's giving me now is real or fake? I have no time to ponder on that.

I kept my eyes focused on him, "it's not weird, I found it to be informative," I said in a cool tone. I was being honest, he would want me to be truthful to him. I would do no justice if I lied to him, this was the best way to handle this situation.. in my perspective.  
He narrowed his eyes at me, "...you found my struggling past to be informative?" his sour expression was not the reaction I was hoping for.  
"Informative about your past and the Calamity Project, that's all," I tried to calm him down, but it was inevitable.  
He slammed his left hand to the ground and yelled, "is this your only reaction to a friend that sat down and spent time explaining his sour backstory to his robotic friend?! Huh!?"  
I held both of my hands in the air in almost in a panic, "well, yes, because you wanted to share your past with me... so it was interesting."  
I made a terrible choice in this conversation, I thought.  
He crossed his arms and looked away from me, "Sheesh. You really are insensitive," he hissed.

There was no denying that, I've been told that far too many times from Emigrace and my teammates from past group missions. Well, this is a huge blunder I put myself in, but at least I have some insight on Yuro's past.

"I apologize," I said in a softer tone.

I'll admit, it's tough trying to change your tone to appeal to the person you're speaking too. It's quite troublesome, because of that, my normal tone is often expressionless. Emigrace did tell me to keep a cool head in conversations to keep myself in control, but I may have soiled that ordered a bit, judging from my frantic panic from Yuro's sudden outburst, it seems some of Emigrace's influence is starting to wear off.  
The others, who heard Yuro's outbreak rushed over to us, "is something wrong?" Selena asked, her expression looked concern.

"Well, that's a first, seeing you concerned rather than angry," was my initial response, but I held off on that, expecting a hot-headed rant from Selena and possibly ruin their images of me.  
I said this instead, "just a small outburst, that's all," I tried to sugarcoat it as much as possible, but my toneless voice didn't cut it.  
"It doesn't seem like a small outburst," Xiu noted, displeased with the answer I gave.  
"Because it wasn't small," Yuro spoke, his voice considerably low.

Well, this is an interesting turn of events, their mental images of me must be ruined by now, so much for getting closer with these guys. I'll have to dig myself out of this mess one way or another, even if it kills me. It pains me to hear Yuro angry like this, and everyone else siding with Yuro and going against me is an unpleasant sight to see. At least it brings me to realize that I'm still far from being buddies with them, because most likely, I'm the stranger of the bunch. Ace told me the groups would know nothing about each other, and this would be a team building exercise, but this is some team you set up for me. I'm practically a stranger to them. I'll have to consult Ace next time I see him.  
Selena, Scarlet, and Xiu pushed me aside and stood behind Yuro glaring at me with intense eyes, I feel like I could die just from the sight alone; if I was a normal person.

"Wow. Looks like I'm outnumbered," I spoke coldly.

Saying that didn't help my predicament any further, in fact, it worsened it. Just everything that comes out of my mouth was just bad news after the other. Which brings to my attention of how much of a terrible person I am. I have a lot of work to do if I am to become an actual person, even though Ayako acknowledges me as a soldier, I want her to acknowledge me as a person, first and foremost. Judging from my current conversation, I am far from ever achieving that. I should've kept the thought to myself, so I can analyze the information about the Calamity Project from Yuro. So troublesome.

"Hey, stop spacing out so much. It's creepy," Selena said, with a concerned look. Her posture suggests that she was trying to protect herself, with her hands folded and centered on her breasts.  
I snapped out of my thoughts, "oh, sorry. I was just thinking."  
"Thinking? That's it? You haven't apologized to Yuro yet!" Selena hollered, thrusting her body forward.  
I shook my head, "I did apologize."

This group does have their quirky kinks, I guess it's normal for silly conversations like this to happen, despite us being in an undesirable location for said conversation. Sometimes people are too relaxed, and this is evidence of that certain lax.

"He did," Yuro spoke up, "just be more considerate towards others, okay? I know that you have social anxiety, but try to fix that."  
I stood there, trying to comprehend what Yuro was saying.  
"It's not social anxiety, he just has a problem with feeling empathy towards other people," Scarlet corrected Yuro.  
"In other words, Kazu here is an asshole," Selena blurted out.  
Scarlet paused for a moment, ".. much like my little sister."  
Selena shot a glare at Scarlet, who was staring at Selena in disappointment. Xiu cut in between them, extending her arms, her posture showing that she doesn't want them to fight. From what I read in novels, sibling quarrels are simply unstoppable, but that's beside the point. I should be focusing on Yuro.  
I turned back to Yuro, whose head was hung over, "Yuro," I called out.  
He looked back at me, a frown on his face, "I'm sorry," I apologized, hoping he'll accept it, no matter now much feeling it lacked.  
His frown turned into a small smile, "apology accepted."

At least that wrapped up quickly, I won't have to worry about groveling at their feet, begging for forgiveness.

"Just keep those insensitive words to yourself, okay?" he said, walking towards me, his hand extended out towards me.  
I take his hand and shook it, "I'll be more careful."  
I said that, but I doubt I'll actually stay true to those words for a while since I have a habit of blurting things out without thinking. Another thing to fix added on the list of things to improve on. Even though I put myself through this.. ridiculous trial, I think I'll fit in with this group.  
I take a short glance of Xiu pushing Selena and Scarlet away from each other. A nostalgic feeling fills me inside, causing me to smile a bit without my knowledge. I'll fit in, definitely. From there, I stepped in, deciding I should help Xiu, "no fighting," I spoke.

We sent the rest of the night cleaning up our meals and packing them back into Xiu's backpack. Soon after, we decided to go to sleep, and the day ended on a positive note, thankfully. We laid down on the rocky ground of the cave, it was uncomfortable, of course, but we didn't have any sleeping bags packed, why? We weren't allowed to, they wanted us to not only grow relationships with our squads, which can be done better in a different activity, but to also have a real experience on the field for a couple of days. That would be an understandable action to do for preparation, but the whole "growing relationships" doesn't make sense, at least to me. But surely, there is a better way to build relationships than this hunting mission.

I sighed, of course, I can't seem to fall asleep. I assume the others are fast asleep unless they knocked themselves out somehow, but how would they, with this uncomfortable floor of stone to lay on? I shouldn't think too much about it, thinking too much in unnecessary times always leads me to bad situations. For example, the assassination mission I had a month ago, Ayako struck me with her words, which pushed me into deep thought and that caused my loss. I may be able to think out the situation wonderfully in my head, but that backfires if I am not able to think and move at the same time. Recently, I have been thinking my feet, which is what I should've done in the first place, but now realizing how my excessive thinking is slowly leading me to my death, I'm glad Ayako brought light to my eyes about my weakness. It's strange, is it?But here I am, thinking about myself, rather than Yuro's past, I must be really self-centered from an outside perspective. It's not that I don't care about anyone else; I do care, but it seems I have been unknowingly prioritizing my own past rather than the others. So many things I have to work on, yet so little time. I guess I'll confront Yuro about this tomorrow, what a horrible friend I am, huh? Well, it's the least I can do, being empathic towards people. I'll give him a proper apology tomorrow, this is all relationship building after all, right? Friends have their positive times full of laughter and fun, also the negative times filled with drama and conflicts. Maybe, maybe, the "relationship building exercise" they announced was specifically for me? ... I'm reading too much into it. I should try to get some rest, it would be a problem if I was sleep deprived.

I slowly close my eyes, wiggling my body back and forth, trying to get comfortable in the otherwise discomforting environment, only to think: _Geez, this is so troublesome._

* * *

 **END**

 **Next Time:**

 _ **RAREST MINERAL**_

 **AUTHOR'S NOTES** **: Hello, HeartlessPhantom here once again! I managed to finish the story, despite my week of procrastination. I hope you guys are having a nice day, if you aren't, I hope today's chapter spiced it up. Well, I'm not too confident in what I have for the dialogue after Yuro's past, since it transitioned into a drama fest, but I found it fitting since that sudden transition in conversation atmosphere happens to me often; so to make the dialogue more realistic, I inputted my personal experience with similar sounding conversations. Any~way, I hope you guys have a wonderful day, and I am always open to feedback and tips on how I sAhould improve; they help motivate me to finish this fanfiction! See you next week!**


	7. Chapter 7 - RAREST MINERAL

**ARC I:**

 **Antinomy**

 **Chapter VII**

 _ **RAREST MINERAL**_

* * *

It was a peaceful, sunny day. The birds were chirping, a pleasant breeze blowing the leaves off the trees in this forest. No touch of human corruption or influence to be seen in this wonderland of nature. A place completely free of human civilization, a place where animals could roam freely, a place that lacked the single bit of darkness. But that all changed in a matter of seconds, quickly following a violent gust of wind, and a loud roar in the distance. I was surprised by the sudden change in the atmosphere. I frantically observed the area all around me, looking into the sky, a dark-purple shadow was spreading in the sky, the light being cut off, causing the area it covered to have a dark shadow over it. From there, the animals ran away and Heartless started to emerge from within the dark forest. Within the dark trees, I see a silhouette running towards me.

"Kazu!" a familiar voice yelled in desperation, I realized the silhouette following me was Yuro, extending his arm out to me, and running with an expression full of fear. Behind him, was a huge shadow, I couldn't make out the body shape at all, actually, it didn't have one at all. It resembles a virus spreading, trying to engulf everything in a world of shadow; the true darkness. I extend my arm towards him, running towards him, trying to shorten the distance between us. The shadow behind him grew larger as I got closer, engulfing the trees around us.  
"Yuro!" I desperately called out, only to stop abruptly in my tracks. My eyes widen at the horror I'm seeing.  
Yuro stopped, he hung his head, looking down at his feet, his brown locks covering his eyes. "Kazu, you.." he spoke in a low voice, then lifting his head up, his face filled with fear. His eyes filled with tears, he started backing away from me, lifting his hands and shaking his head. His body language communicating: "get away from me."  
"What are you?!" he screamed in a freaked out tone, pointing towards me.  
I looked at him in confusion, "what? I'm Kazu, what are you talking-" I was cut off, following another outburst from him.  
"Get away from me, you monster!" his voice still kept that desperate call for help vibe. I could only stand there, as talking wouldn't do a thing. "I don't know you anymore...! You aren't the person I knew, I want the real Kazu back! What did you-wahhh!" he was prematurely captured by dark-purple vines that emerged from the shadow behind him. They wrapped around his wrists, ankles, and his neck. He didn't have a chance to struggle, he was pulled back with tremendous force as soon as he was grabbed; his screams echo in the distance and the sound of his feet dragging across the ground before disappearing into the dark forest.

"What the..!?" I take a step forward.

Before I could process what happened next, three figures appeared, surrounding me. They were Selena Rose, Xiu Li, and Scarlet Rose. Prepared for combat, Keyblade in hand.

"Die!" Selena made the first move, dashing towards me and firing an onslaught of Firaga spells and knocking me down with one strike of her crimson Keyblade. She slid across the ground slapping Xiu's hand; tagging out.

"Disappear," Xiu's expression was dead, lacking any real emotion, her tone reflected that very well. She held her ultra-blue Keyblade with both hands, rising to her head and pulling it behind her. Around a half of a second later, she twirled around on the heel of her boot, swinging the blade, whipping up a strong wind in my direction; an offensive Aeroga. I got swept off my feet, the powerful wind that lifted me off the ground subsided. My body fell under the force of gravity, scraping across the dirt and grass. I use my left arm to support my body, as I slowly lift myself off the ground. My body wouldn't respond to me at all, I could only get back up on my feet, anything else, like dodging or attacking, were out of my control. It felt like I was being suppressed in some form or another. I looked at Xiu, who signaled to Scarlet, who was a few meters behind me already.

Scarlet had an angry expression on her face, her eyes brimming with disappointment and anger. "You know the price of dishonorment, right, Yuuki?" her voice was ice cold, lacking the warmth I would hear in a big sister's voice. My body wouldn't respond to me anymore, like it had a mind of it's own. I didn't face her, I couldn't face her, my body wouldn't let me. I hear her footsteps as she slowly wanders over to me. A few seconds later, we were inches apart, to the point to where I could feel her breath on the back of my neck. She grabbed my shoulder and held her mouth up to my ear, "that price is death, you monster," before I could register those words in mind, she penetrated my sides with her Keyblade, the dark green tip punching through to the other side. The pain was enormous, yet, my body wouldn't express that pain. I could imagine myself being driven through dozens of knives to meet the pain that I was feeling, but lacked the control to show that pain on the outside.

For what seemed like forever, was only a few minutes. Scarlet withdrew her dark-green Keyblade from my body, and backed away from me. In the next minute or so, the same dark-purple vines that grabbed Yuro emerged from the shadows once again, dragging those three off. They didn't emit a scream or a plea of help, nothing of the sort, just pure blankness. I stood in that spot, not moving, and not uttering so much of a word. I've lost my voice at that point, not only have I lost my body language and control over my body, but my voice as well. Funny enough, the wound that Scarlet left in my sides didn't hurt anymore, as if it's purpose was to hurt me, but not linger around for prolonged writhing.

The wind whipped up, more powerful than before, the leaves on the trees disappearing as they're torn off by the violent wind, which was so powerful that a few of the trees were pulled out of the ground and lifted into the sky, spinning. My black blazer was flapping behind me in the wind, my hair wildly dancing according to the wind. I didn't feel any pain for them, I didn't feel any sort of remorse for them, they didn't feel anything for me; except anger, hatred, and disappointment. Yuro was generally concerned for me, calling to me for help, but like the others, he grown to be afraid of me. This felt like a nightmare, a nightmare that I wouldn't want to live in, a nightmare that would pull me into the deepest pit of despair if I allowed it to.

In the distance in front of me, a strong, blinding light appeared in its wake, I closed my eyes, trying to endure the sudden appearance of light in such a dark area. A person emerged from that flash of light that now overlaps the spreading darkness around us, in a split second, I was surrounded with light. No trees to be seen, no sky, no moon, no sun, just a bright light with me and the lone person who appeared within the light. The violent gust of wind that covered the area I was previously in remained, but it was much calmer than before; now it was the pleasant breeze I loved. I turned my attention to the girl in front of me, who was Ayako. She had a disappointed look on her face, her short white hair dancing in the wind. She walked towards me, very slowly, as if she was hesitating on coming closer.

"Ayako," I muttered, and without realizing it, I extended my arm forward, having regained control of my body.  
"Kazu Yuuki," she spoke, in a strict tone, "how long are you going to be pushed around?" she questioned, still walking forward at a snail's pace.  
"Pushed around? What do you mean? I-" I was cut off by a loud noise, Ayako had summoned her glistening white Keyblade and struck the ground with it, as if she was using it to gain my attention, which she did.  
"I don't think you understand," she spoke, her tone growing colder. Her walking pace slowly increasing as she dragged her white Keyblade across the ground. It made a screeching sound, similar to the sound of a nail scraping across a chalkboard, an annoying, ear-bursting sound that no one liked.  
"What do you mean?" I asked, curiously.  
She scoffed, "I'm not going to feed the answer to you, you're going to figure it out yourself. You'll need to wake up from the cage you have been placed in," her words were cryptic and could be passed off as a lunatic.  
"W-wake up? Do you mean literally or figuratively?" I asked, dumbfounded.  
"Both," she said, her feet firmly planted on the ground, halting her movement, "this place is a dream."  
"A dream? So what are you?" I asked, honestly confused.  
"Ayako Tsumura, your pathetic excuse for an ideal image of your subconscious" she spoke, in a silly tone that you wouldn't take seriously. She cleared her throat and began to speak again, "Enough with the jokes. I'm your subconscious, merely taking the form of your rival, Ayako Tsumura."  
"My subconscious? So this really is a dream, thankfully," I hung myself over, breathing a sigh of relief.  
"But it's about time you left and woke up."  
I frantically run over to my subconscious, slamming both of my hands on her shoulders and shaking her desperately, "I need answers! You have them, right!?"  
In a calm manner, she shook her head, slowly taking my hands off her shoulders, "I told you, find those answers yourself, I'm here to guide you, not spoon feed you answers to life; that wouldn't be very fun, now would it?"  
"Even my own subconscious is a dick," I said almost instantly, insulting myself. "Takes one to know one," my subconscious lifted her hand, jabbing it into the wound I received from Scarlet, and turning his hand, mimicking the unlock of a door. The continuing, "you'll have to awaken eventually, I am merely here to guide you on that path and make sure you stay on that path. You are aware that the path you are taking now is different than the one that you have previously walked on up to the point of meeting Ayako Tsumura. I am one that influences you on the path what you believe to be correct, as simple as that. But you are straying from it with your doubt, so this is something to put you back on the path you still believe in. I know you have a lot of questions, but you don't have the knowledge to answer them yet, which is why I cannot provide you with all the hints in the world if I so wish, even if I wished it, I still wouldn't give you so much to ace the test of life. Now is the time you leave, and remember: wake up."

In the next second, I slowly closed my eyes, upon reopening them, I found myself in the cave that I slept in last night. The light rays of the morning sun burning my retinas.

"Uuugggghhh..." I groaned, lifting myself off the cold pavement of stone I was laying on last night. "A dream..." I muttered to myself.

Suddenly, bits and pieces of that dream come flooding into my mind as I try to remember what I dreamt about. "I'm not going to feed the answer to you, you're going to figure it out yourself. You'll need to wake up from the cage you have been placed in," I slowly repeat the line my subconscious said to me.

"Kazu, wake up from whatever fantasy you were just in," Xiu slapped my head with the palm of her hand.  
"Ow. I was already awake," I pouted, looking up at her, who had a dumb grin plastered on her face.  
"Well, you were sleeping for such a long time. We got up two hours before you did, we thought you were a zombie or something, haha!" Xiu laughed, clearly having a good time messing with me.  
"Very funny," I hissed, standing up and looking at my surroundings.

Yuro, Selena, and Scarlet gathered around eating an energy bar or two with another can of meat beside them, a morning breakfast it seems. The light shined in through the entrance, the sun was slowly rising over the horizon and covered a bit of the area with its rays of light. A slight breeze shook the trees that were covering the entrance to this cave; it was a peaceful morning.

"Morning, Kazu!" Yuro ecstatically greeted me like normal.  
"Morning," I gave him a small smile as I greeted him with more energy than usual.

At the same time, I had visions of Yuro in my dream pop back into my head. Yuro desperately calling for my help, and in a sudden change in nature, backed away from me as if I was some sort of beast ready to ravage his entire family. To be honest, I was afraid of a situation like that ever happening, a time where my friends would be afraid of me, to the point that they have to put me down like _Old Yeller_. A chill ran down my spine as I pictured an image of my death in my mind.

I looked over to Selena and Scarlet, greeting them, "morning, you two."  
Selena narrowed her eyes at me, "you know.. you sometimes blank out during conversations, it's kinda freaky."  
"Do I? I must've been deep in thought, oh well," I shrugged it off, as long as it wasn't interfering with combat, I couldn't care less. I might have the wrong attitude since Selena is significantly freaked out by my constant disappearance into the realm of thought that I've grown accustomed to doing time and time again.  
"He's doing it again.. someone help him," Selena's concerned voice reached my ears, snapping me back into the boring reality I'd lived in.  
"Sorry. I was in the realm of thought again," I shrugged it off again.  
"That should be a habit worth fixing," Scarlet acknowledged.  
"...Maybe Kazu really is a zombie," Xiu muttered out loud, as if she wanted everyone to hear.  
"No, you're just an idiot," Selena sighed.  
".. But I thought we all agreed that Yuro is the bonafide idiot among us?" Xiu retorted.  
"We did agree, but I'm considering a retake on that topic," Selena answered.  
"You two are harsh, you know that?" Yuro complained, gulping down the last of his beans at once before pouting.

What a lively bunch these guys are, even in the morning, I don't think I can handle exerting all this energy as soon as I wake up, I thought to myself.

".. Don't we have a mission to complete?" I asked. Instantly, everyone's attention shifted over to me.  
"Why did you bring that up now?" Xiu complained, leaning forward like a sloth.  
"Because we need more fighting and no more Yuro abuse," I said in a toneless voice.

This is so I could apologize to him while everyone else is distracted, that, and he doesn't need more punishment from his own friends, as natural it would seem to an outsider.

"At least someone understands," Yuro sticks his tongue out at Selena and gives me a thumbs up behind his back.  
"Bite me," Selena scoffed, punching Yuro's right thigh, causing him to jump in pain.  
"Ow!" he screamed, jumping around like an idiot.  
"Scarlet, please do something about this," I look over to Scarlet, who was just standing by and not doing a thing.  
"Me? I'd rather not," she shook her head, and continued watching.  
"When did you become so lax?" I sighed, scratching the back of my head, ruffling my messy hair.  
"I don't know what you're talking about! I'm as responsible as a person can be!" she boasted, in a higher tone.  
"Are you trying to sound cute? Because it's not really working," I sighed with disappointment.

I don't understand how they can be so lax, on a mission no less, am I missing something? Am I taking this way too seriously? Fitting in with people around your age group is a tough to do, especially if you have trouble expressing yourself in the way you want. I have been working on this whole "expressing yourself" for quite a while, but in way that is unsatisfactory to what I'd envisioned. Now I'm branded by the group as an asshole, oh well, more I'll figure it ou along the way.

I sighed, taking another good look at my comrades, who were either goofing around or being lazy. "Shouldn't we be heading out?" It's nice to relax and all, but this is the wrong place and time to enjoy youth," I sighed, with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

 _I sound like a novel character,_ I thought.

"Oh, that's right!" Yuro perked up.  
"... What kinda fantasy world have you four been living in for the past few hours while I was asleep?" I blurted out loud.

 _Oops, the fruits of my training are bearing rotten apples,_ I thought.

"Fantasy world?! What are you talking about?" Selena roared, looking at me with disgust.  
"For some reason, you guys are very relaxed, despite the situation and area," I said.  
"True. You guys have been very out of place this morning, it's worrying," Scarlet agreed, leaning back on the cave wall.  
"... You have no place to talk, you were just as relaxed as them a few moments ago," I slapped my face with the palm of my hand.  
"... No~.." she hummed, trying to fake her way out of the situation.

I groaned in disgust, wandering off into the forest, annoyed by our "leader."

The rest of them chased after me, leaving Xiu to become the packmule once again. The sky shone brightly in the spring season, the slight breeze blowing against the shrubs and the leaves on the trees, as green petals fly through the sky. A nice day for any normal teenager to have fun with his friends and enjoy youth, not kill shadowy creatures with your friends. Although, I hardly believe we are normal, seeing how my comrades are so lax despite the situation from last night, I am stuck with an odd bunch, not to say that I am exempted from them, but far from it.

I turn myself around, taking a look into the mountains, it was covered in grass and was very rugged as expected. I guide my eyes up the mountain, examining it, I can see several other Illusion Academy students hiking out of another cave entrance further away from ours, and I see a few teams settling some sort of bout by battling with each other. I decide to climb up the mountain, as I saw no traces of the students in the forest area, so I assume that they all ascended to the mountain area. The rest of my squad followed, their eyes set on scaling the mountain with me, it seems that their duty as a soldier has finally kicked in, thankfully.

".. Tch.." I groan, trying to scale the rocky surface of the mountain.

At this point, I was nothing but annoyed, and I'd successfully expressed it too. I felt accomplished that I'm developing as a person, so in order to keep this to make it genuine to them, I kept to myself, the "Silent Treatment" as Emigrace would call it. It's exactly as the name suggests, I just ignore everyone trying to communicate with me, showing either annoyance or a need to be left alone. Emigrace would often give me the silent treatment if I've disappointed her in some form or another, in some cases, she would do this around Ace. Which brings to light how immature a person can be, despite how they usually are. That makes a person unique in a way, and really brings out the surprise in someone you think you know very well, and have them do something you would never expect from a person. In that sense, I guess I'm immature too.

I lifted my body upward, trying to grab onto a sticking out stone to pull myself up. As I successfully do that, I briefly turn behind me, my teammates still behind me, they scattered apart from each other, to prevent any problems. I sigh in relief and continue climbing.

We finally made it to another side of the mountain after a good thirty minutes of climbing, far from the top, but I doubt anyone else would actually scale to the top since this is our first time patrolling the area, so we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves, but that's my opinion.

We set foot on the grass-covered ground and rested for a bit, trying to catch our breath.

"Whew.." Yuro sighed, brushing off sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.  
A male voice called out, "huh? Yuro?"  
Yuro turned to the man who called, his eyes widening from surprise and a smile smearing on his face, "Dennis! How ya been?!" he perked up instantly.  
"How you relax in an instant is beyond me," I muttered in confusion.  
"Good~... but, for Illusion Academy's Elite Division, you guys are here pretty late," Dennis giggled.  
Scarlet busted into the conversation, "we were caught up in something last night, and we were forced to retreat to a nearby cave because of a sudden downpour,"

Dennis rubbed the back of his neck, "is that so? Well, I have to take your word for it. Me and the Advanced Division had to quickly switch to a cave because of the stupid rain," he bitterly stated.

Dennis is a member of the Advanced Division of Illusion Academy, and from Yuro told me, he is a close friend. I don't know much about the guy, seeing as I only met him a few times during my interactions with Yuro. But it is what you would call an "average-joe" type of guy.

"So how did your hunt go?" Scarlet asked, curiously.  
"Oh. It went well.. got a few new stones, but most of the are already materials we are able to identify, but at least we got a good number of them, around twenty or so," he sighed, being disappointed with the hunt.  
"Ahhh... huuugghhhh... dammit all!" Xiu screamed to the top of her lungs as she finally reached our location, her face filled with rage. Our attention automatically shifted to her. "What great friends you folks are!" she roared in rage.

Come to think of it, when I left the cave in bitterness, the three of them came chasing after me, leaving Xiu by herself to clean up. We put ourselves in a real pickle here, Scarlet is already trying to calm her down, but to no avail, Yuro is trying to assist Scarlet but it hardly makes a difference, and Selena is standing, watching the scene play by her.

"You guys are a messy bunch.." Dennis stated, looking dumbfounded.  
"You're telling me... but I'm one of that 'messy bunch'," I muttered to myself.

...

We finally got Xiu to calm down and worked things out with her, and in the end we got Selena to carry the rest of the load till the end of the mission. In between that whole situation, Dennis and the rest of the Advanced Division took off into the woods in search of new Heartless to hunt. After regaining our composure, we decided to line around the mountain's second level in search of Heartless residing in caves. Along the way, we fought many Shadow-variant Heartless and defeated them with ease, stacking up our supply of Dark Shards in the process. We did see a few of the other teams along the way, but we decided to leave them be and kept to ourselves. At this point, it was already noontime, and the sun was over our heads with several clouds in the sky, we decided to take cover under a tree and revise our plan of attack.

"Sheesh.. it's hot out," Xiu sighed in displeasure, constantly waving her hand as if it was a fan.  
"We're under a nice, cool shade, let's just figure out this plan and get the mission over with," Selena said, a bored expression on her face as she pressed against her cheek with the palm of her hand.  
Scarlet spoke up, "... up to this point, Yuro and Xiu have been our ranged attackers, using magic to as primary damage dealers. Selena and Kazu are the versatile attackers, using both magic and melee in their attacks, gradually switching it up based on the situation, and the ranged attackers supporting them. I, have been giving orders and providing support. How should we change that?" she looked up, expecting a response as soon as possible, taking Selena's boredom into consideration.  
"Switch me and Xiu, I'm carrying the luggage now, so Xiu should be on the front lines," Selena suggested.  
"Any objections, Xiu?" Scarlet asked Xiu, who shook her head in response, showing no signs of displeasure for the change.  
"I think we should be fine with this line-up for now," I muttered, just loud enough for the group to hear.  
"Then, we have to plan out a strategy to take out a boss Heartless, we don't want another fiasco like last night to happen again," Scarlet said, then continuing, "we have a strategy but not one with Kazu or Yuro in it. I'll tell you anyway so you know, usually, we would have Xiu target the opponent's-Heartless-limbs to weaken its arms and legs, allow an opening because we hindered its movement. Selena and I would perform reckless attacks in this stage to overpower it, rinse-and-repeat, done,"  
"Yuro can do the limb-weakening, he done it last time," Xiu added.  
"Yup," Yuro nodded, confirming the information.  
"Kazu has shown to be good in head-on attacks, so he should join me, Selena, and possible Xiu in the reckless attacks team. I'm considering Xiu providing support from a fixed distance just in case the enemy still has some means of countering us," Scarlet added, holding her chin with her hand.  
"Xiu is more skilled in magic than I am," Selena admitted.  
Scarlet nodded to herself, "and now taking that information into consideration, Xiu will be providing help from a certain range. Yuro will be supported and in charge of taking out the limbs that support the Heartless. Selena, me, and Kazu will be performing head-on attacks as soon as the enemy is down," she said with confidence.

Everyone agreed with that notion, no signs of doubt in the success of the plan or signs of displeasure with the assignment. Even if they were displeased, I figured they would be mature about it and tolerate the job they were given.

"That ends our overview of the strategy, now let's continue on, we don't have much time," Scarlet commanded, standing up.

What did we have to wait for? I don't think there was a stable objective, just a simple hunting mission for two days in a new area, supposedly for building of our relationships and adjustment to new environments. I guess Scarlet just wanted to find something worthwhile, or finds our cooperation unsatisfactory. She may be a very lax individual, but she certainly shines when she deems it necessary to step in.

...

We roamed around the area for a few, till we reacted to the sounds of screams and snarling coming from a nearby cave. We stumbled into the cave, to find a few groups of Illusion Academy students on the verge of losing to a boss Heartless. The two students who were still standing rushed over to us in joy, they were a male and a female.

The boss Heartless screeched an ear-piercing sounds as if acknowledging our presence. It had two horns on his head, the head shaped like a horse and hunchback stance. It had bulky arms that had purple ooze drip down from its shoulders from within a hole that emitted a weird smell. Its feet were hooves and the legs were bulky as well, it was similar to a minotaur.

"What happened?" Scarlet asked the pair, who were overjoyed in our presence.  
"T-the boss Heartless wiped out our entire team and few other teams, we thought we were done for if no one else showed up," the girl said.  
"What happened to your potions?" Scarlet asked.  
".. We ran out of potions during the fight..!" the girl admitted, stomping her foot on the ground in anger.  
"Aaaaggghhhh!" the minotaur Heartless screeched restlessly.  
"Selena, get the potions from the bag and hand it to these two," Scarlet commanded Selena, who nodded and removed her backpack and started taking out the potions from inside, and then directed her attention to the pair, "you two will hand it to the injured students, we'll take it from here,"  
"A-alright!" both of them nodded, taking the potions from Selena and started handing them out to the injured students scattered around the area.  
"Be careful, that purple ooze is poisonous!" the girl shouted to us.

All five of us summon our Keyblades and prepare for battle, me summoning Two Become One. Yuro summoning Starlight, Selena summoning her crimson Keyblade, Scarlet with her dark-green Keyblade, and Xiu with her deep-blue Keyblade.

"We'll keep that information in mind!" Yuro yelled.  
Scarlet pointed towards the ankles of the minotaur, commanding, "Yuro, we'll support you, just stick to the strategy we discussed!"

Yuro nodded and jumped several meters in the air, landing on the cold, stone floor of the cave, dust dispersing around his feet as he dashed forward, launching a Blizzaga orb in front of him and striking at the the left ankle of the minotaur. The minotaur slowly lifted its fist and prepared to bash Yuro, Xiu used a Firaga attack to intercept the attack and stagger the minotaur as Yuro slashed multiple times at the right ankle, causing the minotaur to fall on its knees. Yuro ran up the wall near him and jumped off and back flipped onto the ground near his team.

"Rush in!" Scarlet commanded, running ahead of everyone.

Me and Selena followed, while Yuro and Xiu provided back-up. The ooze of the minotaur Heartless started to bubble up and eventually exploded into the a cloud of purple smoke, clouding our vision. We covered our mouths and noses with our hands as the gas was poisonous. Which strikes another thought to mind, the other students might die due to the poison. I turned around and shouted, "you two! Get all the students out of the cave!" I shouted, lifting my hand off my mouth to tell those two. I quickly cover it as soon as I finished, but I felt a bit of pain circulate through my body. I felt drained.

"... Tch.." Scarlet hissed, wiping away the poisonous smoke with a powerful wind that was conjured using Aeroga.

The minotaur stood back up on his feet, towering over us and opening its gaping mouth wide and let out a ear-piercing roar, the pain is similar to hearing someone scratch a chalkboard with their nails. We had to endure the sound since the poison gas was still eminent in the air, and even breathing in just a little bit is deadly.

".. Gahh.." I groaned, bending over and stabbing my Two Become One into the ground, leaning on it as if it was a cane.

My throat was burning, I could barely talk. In addition to an unbearable pain in my body, it felt like I was being sucked of all my energy. My comrades stared at me at concern, but were unable to talk due to the poison. I turned around, it seems like those two got everyone else out of the cave, which means we can focus on the boss.

"...!" we flinched for a moment, the boss reached for a large boulder resting at its side, picking it up easily and tossing it at us. My comrades dodged out of the way, Selena grabbing my weakened body and helped me evade the attack. The boulder hit the ground, creating cracks in the rock around it.

Selena rested my body against the wall and used a potion on me. It helped a little bit, but the strength I recovered back from the potion was instantly sucked away. My vision was starting to flutter, I could hardly make out my surroundings. I can hear the minotaur roar once again and start swinging its arms frantically in the direction of my comrades, but that's about it. Selena left my side and resumed battling with the minotaur.

"... Good luck.." I manage to whisper, but I knew they wouldn't hear it.

This cloud of smoke around me, the dark purple that clouds my vision, seemed so familiar to me. Making ask myself: "where have I seen this before?", that's when it hit me. I've seen this smoke in my dream, it was covering the land around me and bad, uncomfortable things started to unfold around me, then, Ayako appeared out of nowhere, revealing itself to be my subconscious.

"I'm not going to feed the answer to you, you're going to figure it out yourself. You'll need to wake up from the cage you have been placed in," those words from my subconscious echo into my mind.

 _Figure it out myself, huh?_ I thought to myself.

I lift my head up, narrowing my eyes, trying to focus my vision on my comrades who are trying to fight the minotaur and protect me. Their attacks just came bouncing back to them, left and right, each side not showing any sign of giving up. They were limited to magic attacks, due to the poisonous smoke, they didn't want to risk breathing it in by going head-on with their melee attacks. Aeroga seemed no good, so it would be a waste of time trying to blow it away. This poisonous fog, which drains the strength from your body, and the effect is still deadly even after a few seconds of breathing it in. That would stop the others from communicating with each other, which is a system needed in each team for cooperation and direction from the leader, restricting that would be like a pair of chickens fighting aimlessly with their heads cut off. In addition, each time my strength returned, the beast let out a loud roar, and thinking further back.

"You two! Get all the students out of the cave!" when I yelled that out while the poisonous smoke filled the room, I felt my strength drain at an alarming rate, and at the same time, the minotaur Heartless stood back up on its feet and roared, as if it just healed instantly.

That's when it hit me, the reason why all the other teams were utterly demolished under this boss Heartless, it absorbs the strength of those who are infected with its poisonous gas, it sucks away the strength out of infected opponents and absorbs it. That way, it can continuously recover as long as it can drain its opponent's strength using the ooze from his body and combusting it into a large cloud of smoke to fill the room.

"You're one of us," Scarlet's words reflect into my mind.

I'm one of them, yet I can't do a thing. Some kinda elite soldier I am, weakened like this, it's quite pathetic once you get down to it. I'm accepted by them, but I've done nothing to help them in any meaningful way. Is there nothing I can do? I thought.

"You can fight," an eerie voice rings in my head.

My eyes widen at the voice, it sounded so familiar, yet, I can't wrap my mind on who it could be.

"Fight to kill, that's your job and your job alone. You have nothing to protect, so why bother with such petty things like compassion and kindness, they'll get you nowhere. You fight to kill, nothing else, do I make myself clear?" the voice was stern, but still pleasing to hear, like it was someone close to me, someone I know that cares for me, like a parent.  
"Yes.." I mutter to myself.  
"You have nothing in this world to protect! You live to serve others and others alone! That is your existence! That is your proof of living! Nothing else! Show no mercy to those you kill by your hands, after all.. you have no emotions now, right, right!?" in an instant, the voice's stern tone loosens, and turns into a maniacal one.  
"Yes..." I mutter again, in a static tone.  
"Everything will be killed under your strength! Go, Kazu Yuuki! Show the enemy what it means to feel true terror!" those words echo in my mind again and again, and before I realized it, I was standing on my own two feet independently, my head hung, and my Two Become One drawn to my side. The voice continued, back in its stern tone, "no one can push you down, Kazu Yuuki. You will live to serve those of higher order, forever and ever. Here's your first order, finish off that Heartless," the voice commanded.  
"Understood," I nod to myself, extending my arm upwards.  
"... Esuna," a flutter a green leaves in a light green aura covered my body, and in an instant, the poison disappeared, restoring my strength. I extend my arm in front of me, a bright, blue light starting to appear at the tip of my Two Become One. I spin my entire body on the tip of my shoe, wrapping my arms around me and the blue light starts swirling around me the faster I spun, till I stop and extend my arms behind me and spreading my legs on the ground, as the light that formed around me dispersed around the cave. "Defensive Technique, Absolute Purification," the light that I conjured purges the dark-purple poisonous smoke, now creating room for us to breathe and communicate.  
"Nice job, Kazu!" Yuro jumped up in joy. I paid him no attention and slowly walked forward.

The minotaur lowered down on one knee, seemingly weakened. The rest of my comrades stopped in their tracks because of the sudden recovery I had made.

"About time, we were almost done for," Selena pouted.  
"Feeling better, Kazu?" Xiu asked, concerned.  
"Excellent, now we can make a charge at the boss thanks to your work," Scarlet said, with a smile of relief on her face.  
I walked in front of them, bringing a bit of confusion to their faces. In a cold, dead tone I said, "leave it to me."  
"Are you saying you can take it down by yourself?" Selena protested.  
"..." I payed no attention to her and ran straight ahead, extending my arm in front of my, I launched a series of Firaga attacks at it, I targeted the head, which they exploded and combusted the head into flames, blinding the beast for a while. It screamed in pure agony as the flames scorch its dark blue skin and fur. The Heartless started to swing both its arms in both directions frantically.  
"You have successfully blinded your opponent, finish off the job in any way you want," the voice rang in my head again.  
"Understood," I said out loud, jumping several meters in the air to dodge the minotaur's desperate attempt to attack incoming enemies and landed on its back on both feet.  
"Who is he talking to?" Xiu wondered.  
"He always has an earpiece in his ear, is he receiving orders from someone?" Scarlet speculates, tapping her head.  
I carved a small "X" on the back of the minotaur using the end of my Two Become One, marking it as the point of strike. "Try to finish it off quick.." I mutter to myself, lifting my Two Become One upwards hovering over the "X" I had just carved on the beast spreading my legs evenly for good footing. The minotaur seems to have halted all movement, so this is the perfect chance to strike the body with everything.  
"We can't just stand here and let him do this!" Selena protested.  
"If he wants to be the star of the show, let him," Scarlet said coldly.  
"Why!?" Selena continued to protest.  
"..." she remained silent, ignoring her sister at this point.  
Selena expression switched from annoyed to angry, she slapped her elder sister's left cheek with the palm of her hand and wrapped her hands around her shoulders, shaking her back and forth, "answer me!"

"Ridiculous.." I say to myself. I drive the blade into the designated "X," the minotaur suddenly roared in agony and started struggling. I held my ground to stay mounted on the top of the minotaur. I lost my footing a couple of times but I managed to hang on to my Two Become One, which kept my in place. There was a small period of rest between its struggle, giving me the chance to attack. I drive my blade deeper inside its body, Xiu did this against the last boss Heartless we fought, no problem doing it now. I launched a Blizzaga attack inside its body since there is no path to take when launched, as soon as I projected it, it exploded into the formed crystal form it usually takes when it hits an enemy or an obstacle. The sharp crystals pierced through its skin and extended several meters out of its body. Thankfully, none of them hit me.  
"Die a slow, painful death for me," I mutter coldly, addressing the minotaur Heartless.

I ignite a small burning flame at the tip of my Two Become One, melting the ice that formed inside and slowly focusing on expanding the flame, eventually combusting the entire inside of the body on fire.

"Aaaaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhh!" the minotaur screamed in agony once more.  
My Two Become One disappeared in a thin light, I held my hand up to my face and close it tightly, then jumping off and returning to the crowd that was watching in annoyance. "Mission accomplished," I said to myself.  
"Good work, Kazu Yuuki," the voice rang in my head again, then in the next second, I heard a snap. A snap of two fingers. As soon as I heard it, my head started hurting, I fall on my knees and grip my head and tried to shake it off. I managed to do so, I take a glance at my comrades, who were bitter and annoyed at me, the reason why is unknown to me.

I turn around, looking straight at the minotaur Heartless, I get back up on my feet and take a step forward, extending my arm out to it, only to stop prematurely and pull myself back. The minotaur Heartless started to deform and wrinkle, as if it was being sucked into a black hole. Its screams echoing off the cave walls, filling our ears with pain as we heard it die a painful death. It exploded into pieces halfway through dropping the materials we would have to gather on the floor. The only thing I could do was stare in awe and confusion.

Selena started speaking in a low tone, but eventually exploded in anger, "what the hell was _that_!?"  
"What do you mean?" I asked, not understanding the current situation.  
"You were just.. just... so dead and cold to us just now! What the fuck happened!?" Selena burst out again, her eye's narrowed down on me, clearly irritated at me.  
"I don't understand, could you make that statement clearer?" I asked.  
Xiu stomped the floor with the heel of her shoe and stole our attention, "how do you expect us to act so calmly after what just happened!?"  
Then Scarlet joined in, "absolutely! Kazu, what are earth were you thinking? We are supposed to be a team, this is not some sort of competition to be at the top of everyone else! You know that, right!?" her tone was full of disappointment and concern.  
"Wait, hold on. I don't know what's going on, can you at least explain?" I said that, but I didn't get any explanation of any sort, only sour looks and Yuro walking closer to me. We were a meter apart, his expression never changing, carrying the same disgust and disappointed vibe everyone else had.

He spoke in a dead tone, "listen to us instead of answering our questions with questions! Get your head out of your ass and hand it to us straight!" he pushed me with everything he had, causing me to fall onto the floor. He continued, "you do this after they put their trust in us, trust in people that just joined, and you took that trust, and threw it away," his tone was dead.  
I didn't do anything, all I could do was sit there, dumbfounded, unable to understand what I had done. Yuro, displeased by my lack of an answer, turned away and wandered out of the cave with the rest of them, leaving me alone in the dark cavern. I held out my hand to the beaming light from the sun that lit the cave, "I'm sorry, everyone,"

I don't understand all the details, but I felt like I still had to say it, they were upset about something I did, after all, it was only natural for me.

"Kazu?" the girl from earlier peered into the cave, looking at me intently.  
I stood back on my feet, dusting my pants and calling my attention to her, "yes, what is it?"  
"Why aren't you leaving with the rest?" she asked.  
I adverted my eyes away from her, "oh.. we had a falling out, so I got separated." She stepped into the cave, "I can somewhat imagine that" she admitted, "you aren't a cooperative person, after all."  
"Tell me. How do you know?" I asked immediately, seemingly threatening.  
She took a step back, shocked by the sudden question and my rough tone, "w-well.. many people who were on the same squad as you told me that you were very distant from the rest and worked on your own," she answered, stuttering.  
I sighed deeply, "they're right about that," I bitterly said, while rubbing the back of my neck.  
She perked up, clenching both of her hands, "but! I want to believe you're more than that!" she said honestly.  
I smiled slightly, "you're looking at the wrong guy," brushing her words off, I wandered to the entrance of the cave, focusing on the sunset. Then continuing, "you don't want to keep your team waiting, right? Get going, it's almost time to head back."

I heard no response from her, only loud footsteps, growing more distant by the second; she must have run into the cave, for what? Oh, that's right, the boss materials.

I turned around, she was holding a star-shaped, aqua colored jewel in her hands.

"That's..." I mutter to myself.  
She held her hands out, offering it to me, "you wouldn't want to forget this."  
I generously took the jewel off her hands, "it'll be a real pain trying to give this to the rest of my team.. hahaha," I laugh slowly.  
Folding her arms behind her, she slowly walks past by me, her soft voice echoing in my ears, "they'll forgive you, I'm sure of it."  
I turned to her, "what makes you say that?" I asked, curiously.  
"You inhaled that Heartless' poison and Selena brought you to safety and they tried their best to lure it away from you," she pulled to a sudden halt, her soft tone transitioning into a serious one, "they clearly care about you and they still do, but you'll have to earn it back. Simple as that."  
"... Where did you find this knowledge?" I asked, walking in front of her, allowing our eyes to meet.  
"That's what this mission is about, right? Building relationships with your teammates and learning that importance to rely on each other. Am I wrong?" her tone went soft again. I shook my head, "no, you're right."

Having said that, I turned and walked off, waving goodbye to her. All the way down the mountain, I caught no sight of my teammates, so I continued moving alone, carrying the aqua-colored jewel in my arms, as the sun sets and the sky transforms from the deep orange to a dark purple sky filled with stars and the moon illuminating the sky.

Thinking about it, I was so caught up in the moment, that I never asked for her name, I thought.

...

All the teams returned to the front entrance very late at night. We were all lined up in order, with the Elite Division team-my team-up front. That was the only time that I was reunited with my comrades, but judging from the lack of questioning, they were still sour about what happened. I can gather a rough idea of what happen, but I want to know all the details before going and kissing their feet for forgiveness.

The sounds of horns rave in the distance, a signal that someone of a high class was approaching. At that sound, almost immediately, everyone stood straight in their positions, as if we were robots programmed to react accordingly to a command.

"Welcome back, students of Illusion Academy," Commander Yami spoke in a stern voice as he approached from the front gates, with Vice-Commander Thalus by his side.

Commander Yami was a stern-looking fellow with a neat, sophisticated haircut and a slim-fit military general uniform, and stood tall to exert his authority over all of us, an ideal image of a threatening general, you would forget that he was previously a government official. Vice-Commander Thalus was a tad shorter than him, but still gave off that commanding vibe. His black hair was tied in a singly ponytail that reached his shoulders. He sported the same military uniform as Yami. His posture wasn't as disciplined as Yami's, to accurately describe it; it would be the posture of a tired businessman who couldn't wait to go home to his family. A truly pitiful man.

Yami turned his head to Ace, who as standing next to my team, "how was progress on this expedition mission you prepared?" he asked.  
"Oh, It went exactly as planned," he smiled, gesturing over to me, holding the aqua-colored jewel from earlier. He continued, "as you can see, Commander, this young man is holding the fabled Orichalcum."  
"As expected of the Elite Division," Yami replied, his eyes locked on me, a small smirk on his face. He turns away to face the crowd, "I have an announcement to make," he raised his voice, loud enough for the crowd of students to hear. "It seems this operation is a success. All of you have developed a bond with your comrades. We had a few scouting operatives from our Stealth Division keep an eye on all teams to evaluate everyone. The criteria has been met for the continuation of the Calamity Project! After ten years, we are finally able to put an end to the war between the factions to create a beautiful utopia. Everyone here has been training to break their own limits! The bonds everyone has made will be carried on into this last step in the Calamity Project, these are the people you will fight with! These are the people you will die with! These are the people you'll trust with your very life!" his powerful voice echoed into our minds, touching our hearts. He continued, "everyone here wants a perfect society for everyone they love, is that not the truth?" he stomped the ground with tremendous force, raising up his fist into the sky, "three months from now, the last step in the Calamity Project will commence! Gather up your very souls! Your will! Your devotion to this faction! And carry it on your back and thrust forward for the betterment of the human race!" he shouted to the top of his lungs, thrusting his fist forward.

Everyone in the crowd raised their fists into the air, cheering. My comrades did the same, but I did not.

Commander Yami's voice is powerful, able to move the audience like that in a heartbeat is very impressive. A fit man for the lead role of this society. I turn my attention on Vice-Commander Thalus, who was staring at me in bitterment. He opened his mouth to talk, but no words came out, only movement. I couldn't read lip movement, so I turned away and lowered my head to face the ground. Their cheering in the back of my mind, I felt myself slipping away from reality as a result, sealing myself in a small cage for myself and only myself. I lost the trust of my comrades, and I can't seem to recall what I did, it's frustrating.

 _That girl's words echo back into my mind, "they clearly care about you and they still do, but you'll have to earn it back. Simple as that."_

 _If it was as easy as that, it wouldn't be so difficult, I thought._

 _Another voice echoes into my head, "why don't you try?"_

 _Is there a point in trying? I thought._

 _"It never hurts to try. You don't want to lose them, do you?"_

 _Of course, I don't want to lose them, I want to stay with them, I thought._

 _"Is it because Ayako guided you to them, or is it for your own selfish whim?"_

 _I suppose it's both. I want to be with them to find out more about myself, but I never regarded their feelings and how they feel, and only thought to myself. I also want to be with them because of the fresh path lit by Ayako, and I want to look at the end of that, I thought._

 _"How about you change yourself and learn more about these interesting comrades of yours?"_  
 _I wonder how I would do that, I thought._

 _"That's for you to find out," the voice said._

...

I snap back to reality, feeling someone rock me back and forth, constantly, calling out my name.

"Kazu!" Yuro called out, shaking me frantically.  
"... Huh?"

Returning to the peaceful night scenery, I look around, my comrades are gathered around me. Somewhat confused and irritated expressions on their faces.

"What happened?" I asked, confused.  
Scarlet sighed and explained carefully, "you were spacing out on your feet for a good ten minutes after the returning speech Commander Yami gave,"  
"Pretty rude when you think about it," Selena added.

I look down to my arms, the Orichalcum was no longer in my hands, quicking taking a glance at everyone, Xiu seems to be carrying it within her arms.

I clench my fists tightly, "I need to speak with Emigrace right now," I said in a low, agitated tone.

I force my way out of the circle, but someone grabbed my wrist and stopped me from proceeding.

I turn to see Selena, "what?" I asked coldly.  
"Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked in a serious tone.  
I nodded my head, "yes, I forgot something, but I'll return to that matter later," I shook my hand away from hers and continued marching onwards into Illusion Academy.

I wanted to make up with them as soon as possible, but I something urges me to speak with Emigrace first. Something that I need answered, something that I want to know from her. Once I know that, I'll be able to make amends with the comrades whom I've betrayed so suddenly. I'm not running away. I'm not running away. I'm not running away. I'm not running away! I'm merely trying to realize myself! That's it! I'm not deluding myself, and obviously not lying to myself. I'm going to talk to her now and fix everything later! I need someone else's opinion on what I should do, that'll make it easier. I don't know whether it will affect my actions or not, but I have to ease my doubts and do something. Anything.

...

I stormed into Emigrace's office, barging in and rushing over to Emigrace's front desk.

She greeted me positively as usual, "oh, Kazu! Welcome bac-" I stopped her mid sentence by slamming both of my hands on her wooden desk.  
"Ah..!" she gasped in surprise, looking at me in complete shock.  
I bit the bottom of my lip, "I need your help," I ask in a gruff voice.  
"O-of course, what is it?" she stuttered, clearly still shocked.  
I take my hands off her desk and place them lifelessly at my side, clearing my throat and speaking: "I messed up big time in the field, both in battle and teamwork," I said in a loose tone, biting the bottom of my lip.  
"... I heard," her words caught me off guard.  
"From who!? Please tell me!" I yelled instantly without thinking.  
She flipped through the stacked paper that laid on her desk, taking a few sheets out and looking over it. "O-our members from the Stealth Division reported that you took down a brand new boss Heartless on your own," her words bring me to shock.

 _So that's what happened_ , I thought.

"The reports is as follows," she said, clearing her throat and continuing, "'Kazu Yuuki, who was poisoned by the minotaur-looking boss Heartless recovers in a matter of seconds, returning to his teammates, only to claim that he'll take it down himself. He proceeds to slaughter the boss Heartless and returns to his teammates in shock and confusion, as if he had no control over himself. His teammates got angry at him and left the cavern without him, leaving the lone member in the cave as an act of resentment and bitterness towards the boy,'" she takes her eyes off the paper and focuses on me, "is that what you're here for?" she asked softly.  
I nodded, "I had zero recollection of what happened at that moment, now that I know what I had done.. tell me, why does that happen? I want to know," I said, lowering my tone. "I.. do not know," she said, looking down to her feet.  
I took a step back, my eyes widening in shock, "if you don't know then who does..? How am I supposed to find it out on my own? No clues, no hints, which means nothing to analyze!" I uncontrollably shouted, gripping my head with both hands. "Who am I? That's all I want to know, Emigrace!" I screamed, punching her desk with my fist with a bit of force. "I don't know, okay!" Emigrace yelled back, looking at me with tears in her eyes.  
I gritted my teeth in frustration, "you have to be lying, you knew me longer than anyone else! How could you not know? You're the one who raised me after taking me from the Light Faction! I am brimming with things I never understood, questions that I never asked myself until a month ago, and you should have those answers!" I continue to scream in a blind fury.  
Emigrace slammed both hands on her desk and stood up from her chair, screaming, "Operative Kazu Yuuki! I am your caretaker, I advise you to hold your tongue unless you desire severe punishment from the brass! Return to your room immediately! This is an or-" she was cut off abruptly.  
"Don't try to bullshit your way out of this situation by bringing your power of authority here," I moaned restlessly, looking at her intently. "You know damn well that isn't going to work..! Now tell me, who am I?" I asked in a gruff tone.  
She hissed, "I'm sorry, Kazu, but I really don't," her eyes were dead, focused on me with no hint of emotion whatsoever.  
"..." I was taken aback, marching backward in disbelief, "I.. refuse to believe your nonsense!" I blurted out without thinking.

She pulled her right arm back, and swinging it across her desk, wiping out the single pile of paper she had stacked, and let it float through the air, scattered. "Then who will you turn to for the facts? Kazu, you know I care about you, and it hurts me to not even know a slimmer of your gift or you in general. So in times like these, it's best to think them out thoroughly and devise a plan to charge through this challenge you're facing," she said, reverting back to her softer tone.

She walked up to me, pushing me towards the door and forcing me out. She shut the door immediately and locked it. My comrades were standing at the stairway nearby, stunned at the sight of me being thrown out of Emigrace's office. They rushed over to me in a flash, worried looks on their faces.

"Kazu, what happened?" Scarlet was the first to speak up.  
I laughed a bit, "hahaha... are you guys over what happened already?"  
"Of course not, you idiot! But you got thrown out of Emigrace's office, right? What happened?" Yuro yelled, his expression filled with curiosity and anger,

It would be best to tell them another time, I need some time to cool off, like what Emigrace said. I have been following her orders for a good two or four years, I might as well stay in that rut and think it over. They deserve to know, yeah, but they should know another time. But right now, I should apologize to them.

A tear trailed down my cheek, "I'm sorry," I muttered out, whimpering. "I don't know what happened back there when we were fighting the minotaur Heartless, I don't know what came over me... I hope you can forgive me," I said in a broken tone as I walked away from them, refusing to heard their responses.

"Kazu, wait!" Yuro yelled after me, but I gave him no response.  
Scarlet held him back, "give him time, we need to think of something too."

...

I rushed into my room, shutting the door behind me and locking it.

There are things that I want to know, things that I believe shouldn't be hidden from me.. if Emigrace doesn't know, how am I ever going to learn? Am I supposed to build myself from here and forget about myself in the past? Why would I do that!? I thought.  
I punched a nearby wall in a fit of rage, "dammit," I hissed. I leaned against the wall, lowering myself to the ground in an act of confusion, dread, and anger.

"... What am I to do now?" I ask myself.

 **END**

 **NEXT TIME**

 _ **CONSIDERATION**_

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE** **: I apologize for how long it took just to write this chapter. I was preoccupied with video games and anime so I kinda forgot. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy today's chapter and don't be shy to leave a review! It really helps!**


	8. Chapter 8 - CONSIDERATION

**ARC I:**

 **Antinomy**

 **Chapter VIII**

 _ **CONSIDERATION**_

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, the first image I see is the white ceiling above me. What happened last night? Oh, that's right. I had a small argument with Emigrace and some issues with my squad the yesterday. I must've crashed on my bed after that. She did say I need some time to myself to think, I guess I subconsciously followed her advice and fell asleep. Well, falling asleep isn't going to solve any problems.  
Concluding with that, I threw my blanket off me, I look down and see that I still had my uniform on.

I whispered to myself, "I should take a shower soon."

I lifted my body up, and set my feet on the carpet flooring of my dorm room. I glance at my clock; 5:00AM. I woke up at my usual time, usually I would use this time to either study or read a book or two in the library. Looking my currrent state, I should really take a shower in the bathhouse, that way, I can take my mind off the drama from the previous day. I wander over to my closet and grab my extra uniform from the hangers and grab my bag of shower supplies. Then, I walked over to my door, slipping on my shoes. I was about to turn my door knob when a strong stench punctures my nasal senses and forces me into a sudden stop. I pull my arm up, and dug my nose into my armpit, I instantly pull away in disgust of my own body odor.  
I fiercely grip my doorknob and open the door into the dark hallway. I close the door behind me and lock it with a key in my bag. I trailed off to the school's bathhouse from there, located at the back of the long hallway.  
The school's dormitories are split by gender, therefore the bathhouses are gender divided. There is only one thing connecting the boys' dorm and the girls' dorm is the intersection which leads to the bathhouses, not that it matters to me.

The corridors were dark, only lit by the dim sunlight coming into view from the windows of the hallway, but other than that, it was dark. I arrived at the bathhouse, it wasn't a long walk, easily five to ten minutes. There was no one coming from the girls side of the hallway, which was good.. I didn't want to bump into anyone this morning, especially not Selena, she would blow her top off if she saw me this early. Well, she doesn't seem like the type to wake up early in the morning, she strikes me as the type that would always wake up late and blame it on someone else, that's the cliche way of looking at it.

"There's no point in talking about her now," I whisper to myself, walking towards the bath house.

There was a red door and a green door side by side, the red door with a gold plate screwed into the wall beside each. "BOYS" on the red door and "GIRLS" on the green door. I opened the red door, peering into the dark locker room. The light switch was right beside me, I flicked it on, and the bright lights burns my retina, and I shield my eyes with my arm, waiting to adjust to the current light level. I removed my arm from my line of sight and walked towards the nearest locker. I opened it, just your average high school locker. There a horizontal pole at the top, I hung my fresh uniform there. I stripped off my sweaty clothes and stuffed them into the locker, from there, I wrapped a towel around my waist and grabbed my bag of hygenic supplies and headed into the shower room.  
I opened the sliding doors and peered into the shower room. The flooring, walls and ceilings were made with sliver tiles. There were no panels to divide each shower head, only a shelf and towel racks under them. I placed my shampoo and my case of soap on the shelf, I hung the plastic bag on the rack. I pulled off my white towel and hung it on the towel rack. I slowly turned the shower knob, and set it to warm temperature, and sure enough, cold water pelts my body as if I was standing in a sudden downpour. I sighed at the cold temperature, it froze my already freezing body. Having to deal with cold water early in the morning is not a pleasing activity. Even though being a student-soldier, you would think we are trained to adapt to certain temperatures, well, that is the case, but for me, I wasn't perfect in that aspect. My body is sensitive to the cold, and I have a much better time in hotter climates. So I try to endure the spine-chilling feel of the ice-cold water moisturing my body. I think of it as a training exercise so I can tough it out, it just recently became a tradition of mine to train my body under cold climates by using the cold water from my showers. The temperature of the water heats up and I sigh in relief and began scrubbing my pale body with my bar of soap. It was unorthodoxed to some people to scrub your body with the bar of soap but that doesn't phase me a bit. I continue scrubbing my body, smiling at my own thoughts. I would say I'm well built, but I don't have anything outstanding about my physical appearance, aside from my long hair. I am healthy by an extent and I do have muscles from day-by-day training but that's about it. I'm not crazy buff, but muscular enough to get the job done, I don't really need to push myself to the extent. I felt at peace in the shower room, no one to bother me, and the warm water washing away the grim and dirt off my body. It felt really peaceful in the long run.

I hear the loud sound of the sliding doors opening. I look in the direction of the sound, I see a familar brunette in the doorway with a towel wrapped around his waist. Yuro looked at me with a surprised expression and instantly turned away, covering his mouth with the palm of his hand.

I called out his name, "Yuro?"  
He jumped up in surprise, "oh.. Kazu, I didn't know you woke up this early..." he said slowly as he turns around to face me, as if being on guard.

Yuro was the person I wanted to run into the least, having either Scarlet, Selena, or Xiu in this situation would be much better to handle than someone I showed random interest in his sob story and pissed off the next day.

I turned around, facing the sliver wall in front of me, "this the normal time for me to get up, normally I would be in my room, reading or studying, but since I haven't showered, I decided to switch up my schedule," I explained.

I have no idea what to even say to him, sheesh, if this continues, it'll only get awkward by the second. Well, I have to apologize to him sooner or later, and I guess now would be the most ideal time since it's just the two of us.  
I hear the sound of someone turning the shower knob next to me, I peer over and get spooked by the sudden sight of Yuro and his slightly tanned body.  
He smothered his right palm with soap and rubbed his right arm, covering it in soap suds and washing it off with the cool water under the shower head. "Well, I always saw you as the type of dude who would get up early in the morning for school," he said quietly.

I laughed, "ha ha ha.. I had similar thoughts this morning."  
He perked up, locking eye contact with me, "really? I guess friends think alike!" he smiled profoundly.

Friends? Just the sound of hearing it causes my body to shiver in shock. I didn't think he would call me his friend still after what happened yesterday.

I looked at him, confused, "friend..?"  
He nodded, "yeah, you're my friend, isn't that right?" his bright smile hit me in my heart.  
My confusion turned into a small frown of doubt, "after everything I had done?"  
He laughed a bit, but still maintained his warm smile, "oh, hahaha.. of course, I'm still mad about how you handled my story, but you're still my friend,"  
I sighed in relief, "that's good to hear. But listen, I really am sorry for saying what said and performing the actions I had during that last fight," I said dreadfully.  
He waved his hand playfully, shrugging it off, "dude, it's fine, honestly. You know, I actually went with my gut about you getting up early so I can try fitting into your shoes. So I can, you know, feel your pain, man," he continued to maintain eye contact with me.  
"That sounds very much like you, Yuro, ahahaha," I laughed, amused by this actions.

This is a really heartwarming experience for me, I haven't really interacted with a person in such a familiar way, and for some reason, it feels normal for me. I never felt so natural to a person before, so this strikes me as odd and I'm unable to to comprehend it, but it brings me at ease that my friend doesn't hate me.  
He grabbed his bottle of shampoo and poured some on his palm, he rubbed his two hands together and began scrubbing his hair violently, digging into all the dirt into his hair and cleaning it out. "I'm sure Xiu and the rest of the girls think the same way," he reassured me.

I smiled back, "really.." continuing to rub my body with the bar of soap I still had latched in my hand.  
"Well, to be honest, I'm not so sure about Selena to be honest. She wasn't always the forgiving type of person," Yuro laughed.

 _I expected that response from him,_ I thought.

He curled his hand into a fist, "anyway, I promise one day, I'll learn everything I can about you, Kazu! So promise me you'll spar with me again!" he smiled cherrfully.  
I nodded sharply, "I promise."

We had a small conversation about what had happened after I was kicked out of Emigrace's office, just minor things that weren't really important but they were fun to talk about. We finished our showers and headed back to our dorm rooms to get ready for school in about another hour or so. So I had enough time to grab some breakfast at the school's cafeteria. Here's how it works in our school, in our daily missions, we get something called "Ascension Points," otherwise abbrivated as "AP," around ten of them is the equivalent to one US dollar. We use these points as money in this school, they can only be used in this school, and are useless anywhere else. We accumulate these points on missions as our reward, depending on how well we do of course. We receive these points usually at the end of the day, we don't have paper forms of currency, it's just in the form of a plastic card linked to our online account which holds all of our points. Well, before we graduate, we can convert all of our points into paper currency which we can use in Dillith, the main city of the Darkness Faction.

I arrived at the cafetria, looking around, it seems a few students are already filling the huge lunchroom. The lunchroom was just a hard wooden floor, thousands of tables in rows and a counter where you can order your food up front. There are also four cylinder support beams in the building, supporting the huge, marble ceiling above. I trailed my way to the counter, ordering just a simple breakfast sandwich, which was about sixty-five points, $6.50 in USD. I took the breakfast sandwich from the counterlady and said my thanks, and I trailed my way to an empty seat at an empty table. I pulled out the seat, setting myself down and began digging into the sandwich I had paid for. It was a simple BLT, nothing too special, I'm not the pickest of eaters but this would do for now.

"Hey, isn't that Kazu Yuuki?" I overhear a female student say.

I didn't turn my head around, as that would give my position away and they would know that I overhear them. So, I continued to eavesdrop.

"What about him?" her friend asked.  
The girl scoffed, "ugh.. didn't you hear? It sounded like he had an argument with Emigrace."  
Her friend seemed uninterested, "... yeah so? That shit happens."  
"No, you don't understand! He actually had an argument with someone! The robotic Kazu actually showed some emotion for once!" the girl blew up as if it was the end of the world.

It was just some simple gossip, nothing too special, nor is it anything I should care about. Things like this happen in high school, after all, high school isn't always about rainbows and puppies with sunshine sprinkled on top like a cupcake. At first sight, the cupcake is pleasant to look at, but once you eat that cupcake, you reveal the true mold of high school, a desolate place where barely any good things will happen to you unless you're popular. I'm not popular, if anything, I'm imfamous at this school. That girl from the other day said hinted at it herself, that people talk about me in either negative or positive ways.

I sighed and shook my head to clear myself of those unsavorly thoughts and decided to drown myself in this sandwich I'd bought.  
"Woah dude, did you hear? The last portion of the Calamity Project is in a few months!" an ecstatic male student said to his friend.  
"Yeah, finally. I was wondering if we were ever going to fight them again! It's fun fighting them!" his friend admitted.

 _Some of our peers treat this as a fun, little game,_ I thought.

"Man, I'm not looking forward to the Calamity Project," another male student passed by.  
His friend looked at him, interested, "huh? Why not?"  
"It just.. feels wrong you know? I wish I could just quit, but my family is counting on me to excel in this school. I have no other choice, if I quit, we'll be exiled by the Darkness Faction, so I feel forced and pressured. It sucks," he said dreadfully.  
"Yeah.. you're right," his friend agreed in the gloom.

 _Some people started to harsh reality,_ I thought.

Another pair of students passes by me, carrying a neutral expression on their faces, carrying out a normal atmosphere and a state of familiarity.

I bite into my sandwich again, fueling my thoughts from my surroundings.

What that guy said was true, you do get exiled if you quit the academy. It is an act of treason if you do so, that's why. You are granted special information that the brass doesn't want to release to the public, such as the rigorous training exercises at the academy, and overrall sensitive information that may ruin the reputation of the school in general, so I've heard. I don't have a family anymore, I guess I can count Emigrace as my family, but she has no relation to me whatsoever. She only took care of me because she had to, I know she cares about me, but this train of doubt just can't leave my mind. It's heartwrenching, and made me feel alone for a small while. But I still have my friends to help and also.. apologize to.. damn.. living life is hard, isn't it?  
I stuff the last bite of my sandwich into my mouth and water it down with some water, allowing me to swallow it easier. I learned this trick a while ago, if you eat a piece of bread and drink some water with it in your mouth, you can soften the bread so it'll be easier to eat. Pretty useful in the long run. I stood up from my chair, grabbing my tray and putting it near the counter at the front. There, they take your finished tray, scrape off any unfinished food, and wash it. Pretty simple stuff.  
After finishing my meal, I hurried off to class, passing by numerous people who were either eating and talking to their friends, or gossiping about pretty much everything involving me or the academy. These things cannot be avoided, but I would like to know the thought process of everyone at school, just so I can see what they're thinking. Why? Because I'm curious.

 **...**

The school day has ended on a decent note, but not a good one for me. Throughout the day, I have been bumping into the other trio of my squad between classes, and in class. It was awkward between us, but we really didn't have anytime to apologize to each other and make up. So it was evident negativity towards me.

 **...**

I could remember it vividly. I bumped into Xiu on my way to my first class; English II. I happened to turn the corner and make eye contact with her. Which turned into an awkward situation mind you.

"Hm?" I looked at Xiu intently. She narrowed her eyes at me and frowned, "oh, it's just you."  
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked without thought.  
She held her books tighter, "nothing.. really.."

A few seconds passed by and she charged right through me, passing by me and running off into the opposite direction. Right after that, I shrugged it off and continued walking down the hall, wondering what a weird situation that was. I understood I was in her way, and stayed there for a reason; to apologize.  
Yet, I couldn't let the words out of my mouth. I assumed it was the wrong place to say it so I decided to find her later.

 **...**

In my second class, Health Education, Scarlet was my desk neighbor. Of course, I knew this long before I become her friend and joined her squad. But, I felt this.. invisible wall between us and every time I would take a peek, I would feel an immense aura coming from her, almost as if she was trying to reject me. This one time when our eyes met simutanously..

".. What are you looking at?" she said viciously.

On reflex, I look away auomatically. I never knew these girls would be so different, Yuro was so understanding, but these girls are quite frankly, the opposite of that! I suppose it had to do with my knowing Yuro far longer than those two, but I hope Selena would be understanding. Oh wait, this is Selena we're talking about, yeah, she's probably going to react in a similar manner. At that point, I wasn't aware that I already buried myself in my own thoughts, ever so frequently, my teacher had to yell at me to wake up and pay attention. I could heard a few giggles here and there, but one more promiently near me was Scarlet, at least I thought it was. From there on out, I was daydreaming on purpose for a bit just to catch a glimpse of Scarlet giggling, in the end, I did, but it got old after around five intended attempts.

After class ended, I tried to speak to Scarlet, but she bolted out of the classroom before anyone did. It was strange, very strange.

 **...**

My fourth class, Combat Training, we were standing under the blazing sun, listening to a lecture by my professor. At this point, everyone had taken off their blazers because of the instense heat, who would blame them?

At the corner of my right eye, I saw Selena's back a few feet away from me. For some reason, she still had her blazer on, was she cold? Even I, who has no problem in the heat, took my blazer off, so this struck me as odd and unusual. Even from my line of sight, I could see a few sweat drops or two from her forehead.

"... I should leave her be.." I mutter to myself and continue listening to the lecture about parrying attacks.

There was nothing strange that happened for the remainder of the lecture. For this class, the routine was thirty minutes of pure lecturing, and the last fifty minutes of sparring, using things we've learned during the lecture. It's pretty much a class where you have to pay attention, some lessons drown out to the next day, but that's no big deal to us now.

Our professor announced, "alright class, your lecture is over. Now begin training session, you can pair with whoever you want, just make sure to put the knowledge you've gained today into action," he said, clapping his hands together, signaling the end of the first portion of class.

Everyone started spreading out amongst each other and paired up, I was about to leave but something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned over, and saw Selena summon her Keyblade and jump up high in the air, and descend downwards towards me.  
My eyes widen at this sudden course of action, I summon my Two Become One, and held it up, preparing to block the incoming dive. She dove downwards, pulling her arm back and swung downwards with all her might. A loud bang of metal reverbated throughout the area as sparks flew in connection of out blades. She was still airborn, trying to break my defense with her strength. I pushed her back, taking a chance to strike, I missed. She landed just a few feet away from me, breathing heavily and eyes locked on me.

I spoke up, "hey, at least give me a heads up before you chop my head off."  
"It's not like I care, just fight me already so we can get this assignment over with!" she roared, leaning forward and dashing towards me at fast speed.  
"Dammit... I didn't ask for any of this," I cursed to myself.

I brace myself for impact. At the point when we are only a few meters away from each other, she hopped a few feet above the ground and prepared to strike. I swing my blade at around the same time she does, intercepting the attack and successfully parrying. The force of the clashing blades bounced back, causing the both of us to pull back a bit.  
I can hear the cheering of the other students in my class around us, roused by the sudden spectacle.  
We spent the remainder of the class duking it out in front of everyone, and as a result got everyone else inching to fight. In the end, it was a good enough conclusion to class for our professor, as everyone was putting in more effort than usual. But for me? I was busy dreading this conflict throughout the entire thing, Selena just wouldn't let up, she kept coming and coming, no end to her attacks and I was forced to stay on the defensive. Her reaction to me was worse than what I initally thought, infinitely worse. I thought my life was in danger at that moment, I didn't get a moment of rest.

"What's with everyone today...?" I sighed as I lunged my tired body all the way to my sixth class.

 **...**

Well, that's the story. My only hope is that I'll be able to apologize to them sooner or later, if not, right away. I guess it's just a sudden surge of emotions that were aimed at me, like the time I bursted out at Emigrace last night. In that case, I understand what's going on, if not, then it's "that time of the month" for them.  
I marched over to my dorm room, passing each and every door leading to a staff member's office room. The entrance to the student dorm was through the facilty hallway, I have no idea who's design choice it was to do that, but it's a bit inconvient for delinquents. Not that I've seen any delinquents at this school, nor did I care if there were. At this point, I just wanted to keep to my thoughts in my room. I wasn't in the mood to talk to Yuro or the rest of my friends today, especially what happened today at school.  
When I finally reached my dorm room, I immediately slam the door shut and locked it once I got inside. Probably disturbing my neighbors with action, but in all honesty, I couldn't help but slam it, I was frustrated with today after all.

"And it started on a good note too.." I mutter my last thought.

I set my backpack I had been carrying all day on my bedside. I lazily threw my tired body onto my bed. Lacking all energy to read or do my homework given today, it was far too stressful to even think about it.  
A good five minutes of pure silence passed. I hear a loud knock at my door. At that moment, what seems like a strong current of electricity flowed through my body and granted my energy as I sprung up and wandered over to the door in a panic.

"Who is it?" I asked, calmly.  
Three female voices spoke simultaneously, "it's us," I knew these voices all too well, as a wave of confusion engulfed my mind.

 _Why the hell are they here?_ I thought.

"You three shouldn't be allowed here," I spoke in a much lower tone.  
Yuro spoke up, "nah, don't worry Kazu, I'm here to escort them!"

 _Thanks a lot,_ I thought, sarcastically.

I sighed in frustration, "well, what's your business?" I asked bluntly.  
"We came to apologize what happened today and yesterday," Scarlet explained.

 _Well, it would do no good if I just shut them out. I was going to do it myself, but since they're coming to me, I might as well accept their wishes and let them in,_ I thought.

I opened the door for them and they came barging in, with Xiu knocking me down to the ground, all four of them laughing in delight and joy.

"What the!?" I yelped in surprise.  
All four of them got off me and helped me stand back up. I smiled a bit in amusement of their surprise but quickly turned it to confusion. "What's this about?" I asked, still surprised.

Xiu ecstatically jumped up and spoke up immediately, "all four of us got together during lunch break and talked it out. We were being judgemental yesterday and didn't acknowledge your reasons for it. So, we decided to forgive you after hearing what Yuro and Emigrace said," she smiled brightly.

I rubbed the back of my neck, "oh, so it wasn't a big deal then?"  
"Of course, it was a big deal," Selena butted in, "but after hearing you had no control over yourself, we can forgive you just this once," she said rather seriously.  
"And what was with the weird awkwardness today?" I looked at each of their faces, which were hung out of guilt or embarrassment.

 _Did I say something wrong?_ I thought.

Scarlet giggled playfully, "haha... well~ I was still a bit angry.. haha.." she tried to laugh it off but the awkward air left her in awe.  
I turned my attention to Selena. She spoke, "I was angry too, so I decided to direct my anger towards you during combat class," she pouted.  
"It was before lunch for me, but I was kinda nervous around you.. because you were scary back there when you took down that Heartless by yourself. That dead stare and empty voice when you were speaking to us gave me the chills, almost as if you were a ghost," Xiu said honestly, but still shaking.

These reasons are all understandable when you get down to it. From what I heard from them, I seem to have betrayed the plan and took it down myself, I bet they're angry because I endangered my own life. But really, this group of friends I have is a very interesting bunch indeed.

I laughed a bit, "hahaha.. I believe you guys, I accept your apologies. But I'm also sorry for endangering my own life like that,"

They all laughed in unison, "hahahaha!"  
"Kazu.. hahah... why are you apologizing!? Hahaha... you didn't have any control over yours...elf! ahahaha... there's... no need to! Hahaha!" Scarlet tried to explain, but due to the laughter, she was holding her stomach tightly and was unable to calm down.  
I smiled widely and laughed along too, "hahaha! I guess I was frustrated over nothing!"

That's what I said, but I'm still bothered by the fact Emigrace doesn't know a thing about me, and I cannot know for sure if she's lying or telling the truth. Why would she lie? She cares about me, and she would tell me the truth because she would want me to know. But what if she doesn't want me to know? In that case, why does she want me to stay ignorant to this dormant power inside me? There are so many questions that leads to an answer and to another question based on my doubt and fear, things that I don't want to become reality and things I want to be reality.

The room echoed with our laughter, with me stuck in my thoughts for the day. The rest of the day was perked up with idle conversation about school and homework, and by the end of it, everyone left and returned to their dorms. I sat down at my desk, engulfed in my favorite novel I picked up a month ago, "Dark Blight," by Unknown. Of course, "Unknown" is only an alias for the author. This book tells the adventures of a boy with mysterious dormant talent ending up in another world separated from his friend, and his journey revolves around finding his friend and making new ones along the way. Quite a revieting tale, well, it isn't top notch., critics would give it lower than average reviews. I only found it entertaining, but I admire the author's efforts.

A voice picked up in my earpiece, "Kazu?" Emigrace called out.  
I tapped my earpiece, enabling my mic, "what is it now?" I say rather bitterly.  
"Now~ don't be a sourpuss," she purred.  
I sighed, putting down my book, "please get to the point,"  
"I'm watching you," her tone went downhill, going from one-hundred to zero in a matter of seconds.

Her bone-chilling dead man's tone made every hair on my neck stand up as I gulped down everything I was feeling prior to this conversation. As they are replaced with feelings of anxiety, stress, and nervousness. I'm still unable to display these emotions properly but I am certain about it.

She giggled deviously, "that's a nice book you have there, 'Dark Blight," was it? You have terrible taste."  
I narrowed my eyes and swallowed my feelings, "what is your gain here?" I asked.  
"Nothing of the sort, Kazu, you know I care about you," a slight whimper follows after her statement.  
"What's wrong? Hey..." the line cut to static, "hey!"

I jumped from my chair, staring intently at the door, "what the hell is going on here?" I pressed the button on my earpiece, disabling my mic. Following that, I made a run to Emigrace's office, opening the door loudly and making a mad dash towards her office. I heard a few doors open behind me, I could feel their confused glances on me, but I didn't turn back to explain, I needed to find out what was wrong with Emigrace. She's my only family left, I don't know anyone else, if she's gone I can't even begin to imagine what cruel things life has in store on this rugged path I'm running on.

I made it to her office, I tried to open the doors, but they were locked.

"In that case...!" I extended my hand and summoned Two Become One, and pointed it at the twin doors in front of me. An orb of light started forming around the tip of my Two Become One, then directed a single beam at the door. The door pulsed with the energy of the Keyblade, I heard a sound of the door being unlocked. I withdrew my Two Become One to my side, running at the door and kicking it open with huge force.  
"Emigrace!" I yell desperately.

I am greeted with the scene of a dark room. A single lamp light on her desk, her feet kicked up on the top of her desk, and her face hidden in shadows. A tense atmosphere fills the air.

"I'm so happy that you're here now, Kazu," she spoke, her soft voice was gone, it was colder, as cold as the tone Ayako gave me when we first met.  
"What the hell is going on?" I asked, but she only returned laughter as a response, "Emigrace!" I screamed.  
"No need to get so angry, you need to relax, now have you given it any thought? Your elusive past?" she said rather devilishly.

I nodded sharply. "of course, I did. But nothing comes up as an answer, only a chain of doubts and plausible conclusions. If you know anything, tell me at once!" I said boldly, marching over to her desk and slamming both hands down.

She laughed uncontrollably, "hahahaha! ahahah! Why are you acting so high and mighty? It's almost as if you think you run the damn place..!" she mocked, then continued in her prior tone, "but.. you don't,"

She is entirely different, much more different than the Emigrace I knew before, the soft, kind person that cared for me is no longer in front of me.

"What happened to you?" I asked.  
"Hm? Nothing at all, I'm still the same old Emigrace you care for!" she said in a higher tone.  
I slammed my hands down the desk again, scaring her a bit, "cut the bullshit! Tell me!"  
"Oh~ when did you become a feisty little devil? You even developed emotions to boot. I knew you were interesting from the moment I saw you seven years ago," she smirked, "but I didn't realize you were going to be a soft cry baby, turning to your friends for help," she scoffed, "teenagers are so fucking naive."

I lifted my hands off her desk and brushed them to my side, then rolling them up into a fist and raised it up to my face, shaking. "You aren't Emigrace, are you? The Emigrace I knew would never say such profound things!" I jumped up and punched her from above, only to realize that it was a doll with a speaker all along. I gripped at the clothes the puppet wore and punched it again.

"I was tricked..!" I hissed.  
The puppet coughed, "you're.. so fucking... naive."

I gritted my teeth, punching it again and again, repeatedly without stop. I felt pain in my hand, but I didn't care in the slightest. I was tricked, I was tricked with someone imiating the voice of the person I most cared about in this school. I was preparing my last punch but a bright light caught my attention. I stood up, my eyes widening at the sight of the entire Advanced Division and Vice-Commander Thalus shining flashlights at me.

"What the.," I said in awe.  
Vice-Commander Thalus narrowed his eyes at me and shouted, "Operative Kazu Yuuki! What is the meaning of this?!"  
I hold my hands up and explain, "please understand! I was set up!"  
"Oh?" he hummed in disbelief, "you expect me to believe that?"  
I held up the wooden puppet I was punching earlier, "see? I was deceived!"  
He stomped his foot on the ground, "and what made you attempt to punch the puppet!?"  
I gritted my teeth, "this puppet was impersonating Emigrace and said crude things about me, I couldn't take it so I punched it," I admitted.  
"I'll have to give you to the brass," he sighed, signaling to the rest of them to apprehend me.  
They took me away, using handcuffs to restrict my arms. I was escorted out of the room and then saw Emigrace running towards me in a panic, "Kazu? What happened?"  
Vice-Commander Thalus spoke up, swirling his crimson red hair with his index finger, "Kazu Yuuki was found in your office, yelling and beating up a puppet dressed in your clothes," he explained, showing her the puppet that was being carried by some of the Advanced Divison members.  
She stood there in shock, looking at me in concern then turning back to him, "then why are you taking him away?!"  
"Because he created a big fuss," he said in a carefree tone.  
She lost her cool, grabbing him by the collar of his uniform and held him up close t her face, "don't give me a bullshit answer," she growled.

His calm demeanor remained intact, not changing in the slightest by her immense anger, which surprises me.

He quietly spoke, "don't forget, Emigrace, you are his guardian, and as such, you'll be faced with punishment alongside him," he smiled.

She scoffed in response and released him, softly shoving him to the side as she walked off in frustration.

"Geez, what a troublesome woman," he sighed, "take Kazu Yuuki to the lecture chamber, we might as well cue him in on the Calamity Project while we're at it. A tad bit unprofessional, but it's better than not knowing a single thing in two months."

I struggled, trying to break free to catch up with Emigrace. I didn't know what to do right now, but I felt that it's more important to be next to Emigrace at this very second. They noticed my movements and sucker punched me in the face, leaving a bruise on my left cheek.

"...!" I groaned in pain, but it was honestly nothing to me in the long run, I knew I was going to feel more pain later.

 _Dammit. Why... why!? All I wanted were answers, that's all I needed to end my doubt and frustrations. At least, I have my friends still, but I'm glad Emigrace wasn't the one saying those inhumane things,_ I thought

 **END**  
 **NEXT TIME:**  
 _ **CLASHING**_

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE** **: Back to the one-week upload schedule, I hope it stays that way for a while. As always, enjoy the remainder of the day, and don't forget to leave a review! C'mon, don't be shy.**


	9. Chapter 9 - CLASHING

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** **: I am terribly sorry for the delay for a month or so. I've been busy with school so expect a long gap in chapter publishing! Once again, I'm sorry about that. But please, enjoy this chapter!**

ARC I:

Antinomy

Chapter IX

CLASHING

* * *

I was trapped in a poorly lit room, lit with a single hanging lamp over my head. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, entirely made of concrete, a dull color, a very boring one. I sat in a metal folding chair, beat up, and my arms chained behind me. It was a bad situation for me, one that I wouldn't ever dreamt to ever be in.  
How did I get here, you ask? Oh, it's quite simple, really. After I was taken away from Emigrace's office, I was sent here right away. As soon as I got here, they chained me to a chair and beat me senselessly. Afterwards, a superintendent came by and spoke some gibberish nonsense to me, now, I don't even know what to think anymore. It has been, I dunno, days or weeks since my apprehending. My memory before that seems so fuzzy, I can't seem to recall what happened before I got here. It's funny isn't it? I remember this feeling, this feeling of hopelessness, I felt that when I was unable to remember anything that happened within my own childhood and early teens. It's quite laughable to the sick, sadistic outsider, because they know the torture was a success. I glance over to my side, there is an empty syringe at my feet. I have been drugged during my time here.  
At this point, a sane person would have already made the choice to leave the school, but I can't. Leaving the school with such sensitive information is prohibited. Doing so will enact the policy of death or exile from the main city. So I don't have a choice but to fight, fight to live. Everyone is forced to fight, they stay because they value the lives of their family, and since Emigrace is my guardian, if I leave, she leaves with me, that's how it works. What I do, she's also responsible for.  
My ears caught the sound of footsteps, I lift my head to take a look at the door, expecting someone. The metal door opened slightly, two Illusion Academy students walked in and stood by the door, acting as bodyguards for Vice-Commander Thalus who walked in soon after.

He carried small container in his right hand. "You interested?" he asked, noticing that I was looking at the container.  
"..." I looked at him in pure silence.  
He sighed, "hey, say something... cat got your tongue?"  
I opened my mouth to say something, but Thalus kicked me in the stomach, causing me to spiral down onto the floor with my chair.  
"You might be asking yourself, 'why am I here? I did nothing wrong. I was simply angry,'" he boasted, looking down at me, "you know, I really hate your guts."  
I coughed up blood, "why is that?" I asked in a gruff sounding voice.  
"Everyone seems to trust you, even though your personality is so shit, which would hinder your ability to cooperate with others. Yet, they still believe in you. It doesn't make sense to me. Is it because you're one of the top students? Is that why they respect you that much? And to top it off, even Yami respects you," he slowly walked closer to me, then lifted his boot over my face and stomped on me repeatedly, "despite your ass being from the Light Faction in the first place!" he seized his violence and placed my chair back in place.

I felt pain on the right side of my head, I could feel the blood rushing out. It felt as if my head was being squeezed by a thousand tons of force. "..." I spat out some more blood.

The two students at the door said in concern and fear, "erm..! S-sir! Can you not hurt the dude any longer? The superintendent made it clear to keep him alive!"  
"This is perfectly fine. It's just to exert my authority and power over the boy, it's necessary," Thalus replied slowly.  
"You seem to have lost your respectful tone... haha... what kind of professional are you..?" I laughed softly.  
He scoffed, "don't get cocky kid. Don't you see what position you're in right now? Are you stupid?"  
"I heard answering questions with another question is a product of stupidity. Kinda selling yourself out buddy," I smiled wryly.  
"You got some tongue," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "anyway, down to business, look," he held the container he was holding up to my face. Through the glass cover, it contained two syringes, filled with some liquid.  
"'You see, Yami gave this new tech we are testing to use on you. It's something that will be handed to you specifically for the Calamity Project. We'll get back to you on details on you and your friends' roles in the mission another time. For now, we need you to test these, booster drugs," he explained.

Booster drugs? I thought.

"You see, we are experimenting new tech to use against the Light Faction. Being the traditional bastards they are, we decided to show them how tradition's going to get them nowhere by taking them down with our superior technology. It's foolproof! Well, that'll the case so long as no idiot gets their hands on such a viable resource such as these drugs," he smiled, "do you accept? If not... we'll kill Emigrace," he said in a carefree manner.  
I gritted my teeth, "what kind of sick bastard-" he placed his fingers on my mouth, shushing me.  
"This is all so you'll cooperate," he said.

In the end, I accepted to test the drugs. They would set up a battle arena for me to test the effectiveness of the drug and the side effect on the user. Accepting this task was a hard thing for me to do since there is so much on my mind right now, I didn't want to think about fighting at the moment. But I had no choice but to accept unless I wanted myself and my guardian to die. So, to protect both of our lives, I have to choose the hard route for myself. The arena was located in Dillith's Overlord Dome, a place in which sporting events of all sorts would be held for the delight of the public. I guess right now, I'm now "entertainment" for the people of the Darkness Faction.  
I made it to the arena through a transportation convoy going through the city. I spoke to the driver, he told me the arena was going to be closed just so I could test the drugs, stating so the public won't go into a panic and riot because of a small test. That makes sense, I forgot that what Illusion Academy does is a secret to the public, other than the information that the brass allows to pass to the public.  
Suddenly, Ayako's face flashes into my mind. I guess her words do have a major influence on me.

 _"Where's your free will?"_ her words echo in my mind.

Now that I have a free mind, I kinda understand her question now. I guess I still didn't have a free will at all still. I lied to her during that ambush attack a month ago then, stating that I had a free will, when in reality, I still don't. I'm just another dog working underneath the iron fist of higher power. If that's what she meant, then I haven't really improved at all. Well, there're only two more months till we possibly meet again. There's no guarantee, but I do have a strong feeling I will meet her again.

I stood by in a dark hallway, waiting for the doors to the arena to open. I couldn't really get Ayako or everyone else off my mind at this point. I took the container with the drugs in my hand, only to tighten my hold on it in frustration.

"Booster drug," Thalus announced the name, much to my surprise. I turn around to face him in a bit of a panic, his calm voice frightened me.  
"B-booster drugs?" I asked, looking for confirmation.  
He pointed at the case I was holding, "those are booster drugs. These drugs are used to enhance human physical capabilities, and by ejecting it through any part of your body, the drugs will take effect almost instantly."  
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, curious.  
He scoffed, "I'm getting the idea that you really are an idiot," he sighed and continued, "I'm telling you this because you need to know what they do when you use them, simple enough. Really use common sense, unless your mind is deteriorated or something."

Of course, I know that, but I wanted to know more about these "booster drugs," I thought.

"Well, I only came here to give you an explanation. Good luck with that match of yours," he waved goodbye, heading off in the opposite direction.

I hear the doors behind me screech open, as the bright sunlight pours into the dark, bleak hallway.

A voice rings in my head, "use the drugs, and complete your task, slaughter the enemy."

At that moment, I lost all thought. I took out the single syringe out of the container and slid the box across the glossy flooring. I stabbed my arm with the sharp needle, pressing down on the top of the syringe, ejecting the fluids into my body, allowing it to flow within my system.

"Ahh..!" I felt pain, sharp pain. As if I had been stabbed in the chest with a thousand knives at once. But I felt the energy flow through my body as if I was pumping with adrenaline.  
"... Understood," I muttered, pulling out the syringe from my arm and tossing it onto the ground, watching it snap in half. I turned around and faced the exit and dashing wildly into the arena.

...

"Good work, Yuuki," Yami patted me on the shoulder.  
"..." I replied with silence.

We were in the convoy, back to Illusion Academy. I had no recollection of the prior events. But seeing Yami praise me for my efforts, I assumed I had just completed my fight in the arena, and used the drugs Thalus provided me for testing.

With the drugs coming back to mind, I perked up instantly, "e-excuse me, but where did you research the booster drugs?" I asked.  
He held the bridge of his nose, thinking to himself before speaking, "we recently developed these drugs for use in our laboratory."  
"For what purpose?" I continued to question, being curious.  
He smiled, "for the final phase of the Calamity Project," but his smile turned into a frown, "... that was the initial plan, but after evaluating your actions, I have come to the conclusion to reserve them for you to use in case of emergencies. I wouldn't want to endanger our most valued soldier."

Valued? Since when? I don't recall anything I have done that the Commander would actually value me for anything. Unless it was about obtaining the Orichalcum, but I found that to be very minor, I thought.

Commander Yami is a very influential person. Using his gift of speech, he reached out to the citizens of Dillith with his ideals and how he plans to remake Darkness into a much better place. Clearly, he is a force to be reckoned with, someone of this much power shouldn't be taken very lightly and should be addressed to with the utmost respect, anything less would be considered an insult in the eyes of many. If this were a historical novel, he would be referred as a hero. Heroes in ancient past are known to bring change where they go. Now his second-in-command, Thalus, is almost completely different from him. From what Emigrace told me, he only rose to power thanks to his own actions in the military, enabling him to be good enough to stand underneath Yami. He's just a few years younger than Yami but he isn't enrolled into the academy, he's in the actual Darkness Faction military. He's impulsive, reckless and lacks respect from what I've seen, I don't know what to expect from Thalus, but I don't particularly expect anything good to come from him. That's just the gut feeling I have.

"As for your involvement in the Calamity Project, the Elite Division and several squads of the Advanced Division will attack Sillith, their main city, we have informed the other side of our arrival," he explained.

Hearing how they contacted them about the date of the war is baffling to me, why on earth would they tell them? A flutter of questions fills my mind as I wonder about the logic our commander is running at.

He laughed playfully, "haha. Judging from your confused expression, you might be questioning why we are telling them. This is a war, it's only suitable to tell them when we're fighting to resolve the issue at hand. That issue being their reluctance to join together with us for the perfect utopia I have in mind."  
I tilted my head in confusion, "but aren't you just really planning to take them over and cover it up as joining together?"  
"Haha. Yes, but the perfect utopia thing was just a cover-up to hide our true intentions from the public. Playing off the war as them denying the Calamity Project and revolting. I had all the citizens believe we are only in this war to make the Light Faction accept our demands and we even had them believe that the army is in the war-well they are, but most of the participants are the students of Enlightenment Academy and Illusion Academy," he explained in his stern voice, even now a chill runs down my spine every now and then, each time I hear his tough voice. It pierced through my soul with each word that came out of his mouth, if this were a real battle, I would be on my knees, gasping for air.  
"I have one question," I held an index finger up, catching his attention.  
"Hmm.. what is it?"

I have been wondering about the Keyblade, sure, this is pretty broken thought process, but I want to know where did the Keyblade come from. Something so strange, something so out of this world like the Heartless, why is that? If anyone would know this information, it would be Thalus. He isn't a history teacher, but he is the person who reintroduced the Keyblade to the Darkness Faction back when Heartless were swarming the towns.

"Is there any sort of.. back story about the Keyblade?" I asked, which was quite unexpected for him to hear, judging from his wide eyes.  
"I never expected you to ask me such a question, Kazu," he laughed softly.

Neither did I, but it has been poking at me ever since I looked back at my Two Become One recently. I don't believe it bothered me when I was younger I mean, I hardly remember my childhood, but surely I would have a nagging feeling about the fantasy-like style of this weapon I'm using.

He cleared his throat, "well, you are aware of Yin and Yang, correct?" he asked calmly.

I nodded in response. It hasn't crossed my mind ever since Ace mentioned it to me before the Expedition Mission a few days ago, but that's about it. I do remember minor parts of it here and there, but it's still fuzzy.

"Well, according to several history books, both countries, or sides, as you will, were once one. Our ancestors believed that separating was for the better, for the balance of Light and Darkness, Yin and Yang, essentially. Later down the road, the Keyblade was created after dividing ourselves. The Keyblade originated from Yang, and they were used as weapons of protection against the Heartless," he explained, keeping up his stern tone.  
"Then, how did the Keyblade make its way to the Light-er. Yin?"  
"Haha.. one of the blacksmiths who knew how to properly wield the blade and was the founder of the blade became a traitor and snuck into Yin, where he passed down this knowledge, apparently," he said, quite unsure.

Blacksmiths? That term stuck against my curiosity. The Keyblade was made by blacksmiths? I asked myself.

"Blacksmiths?" I asked, confused, "they were able to make this type of sword?"  
Yami sighed, holding out his hand and summoning his pitch-black Keyblade, it had a pretty sincere design, despite the rough feel of the blade which is the vibe it gave off; rough and smooth. "They were able to create the blade through some really weird ways, one would call it witchcraft. They were constructed in a similar way swords are, but something in the process changed the sword dramatically into a Keyblade. That's as far as I know it anyway," he frowned, "but why are you bothering yourself with a history lesson? From recent reports, they told me you were in confinement!"

Right, confinement, I bitterly thought.  
Hearing that word just worsened my mood. I felt every bone in my body twitch at the mere rising of that memory, that dreadful memory that made me remember the back-breaking pain of the physical and mental abuse I was subjected to in that cold, gray room that was so dull to look at for hours, while having someone in front of you giving random lectures and the Thalus' bodyguards beating you down to the pavement like some gangsters in old hipster movies.

"It was a misunderstanding, but even so, I was still subjected to torture I didn't deserve," I pouted.  
"Ahh... that is quite unfortunate," he said.  
"I'm hoping Emigrace is safe and sound, in her office, doing what she usually does every day."  
"Emigrace? Oh, she is your guardian after all. It must've slipped my mind, I apologize. ut I assure you, Emigrace hasn't been hurt in any way since you were gone, but I have to say, you are quite mellow about this."  
I gave him an angry look, "huuuh!? Mellow? You're not very good at reading expressions, Commander. Besides, I have been used to physical violence for quite a while, from the previous number of times I have been thrown into that isolated cell and beaten almost half to death, which, by the way, is getting really dull."  
"Hahaha... please elaborate on that, Kazu."  
"Even though the guys doing the beating is different every time, their methods of punishing is nonetheless, the same."  
"Well, that wouldn't work out so well, would it? We would have to make everyone learn a different type of technique, but it'll take too much time and effort to find the SMALLEST way they could be different. You still feel the pain anyway, right? So really, there's no point," he calmly explained.  
"You got me there," I smiled wryly.

The conversation became lighter and lighter with each passing second. We talked for what seemed like ages but was really just twenty minutes. I now figured out new information about the Calamity Project while I was at it. Truth be told, it was fairly interesting and the parts where Yami had to trick the citizens didn't really bother me much. It would bother my friends if they were here with me, because of the lying and spreading false information to the public and other things. But if you dive into it more, if you were in shoes, wouldn't you do the same? It's hard to picture myself in Yami's shoes, giving such a grand speech from time to time, but having to push your own ideas forward to appeal to a massive audience, he only did what was easier for him. Telling the truth would only cause riots and such, after all, he wants everyone happier, so, he decided to accelerate human civilization with this project.  
I hoped that he would at least know more about the Keyblade, but with the weapon being so elusive in nature, it was only natural he wouldn't know a lot. I guess I have to go back and read my history book about the weapon myself. Although, I do wonder what made the founder of the Keyblade betray the Darkness and shared the knowledge of the blade with the Light. Thinking about what historical figures had thought during their time is amusing in its own take. But at the same time, you really wonder what made so-and-so do this, and what made so-and-so do that.  
In any case, Yami only told me a handful of things about the Calamity Project and some good backstory of our neighboring factions. I did find it interesting they were previously called Yin and Yang, instead of just plain Light and Darkness.

...

I finally made it back to my room after a few days. Yami had Thalus discharge me from the confinement room, because of the success of the booster drug test I had to take. It still bothers me why they had to put me into that room after what happened in Emigrace's office. Like really, it could be something that can just as easily be overlooked and no one would care.  
My body felt heavy as if something as hit my back with a thousand pounds and forced me to carry all the way up a hill. I must be tired, after all, I still have nothing to recall the drug test and fight I had in the arena in Dillth, so it has to be something regarding the earlier case with the Minotaur Heartless I encountered. I shouldn't give too much thought into it, I'm really tired.  
After checking my door, to see if it was locked, I tossed myself onto my bed. I slowly closed my eyes and lured myself into a deep slumber for the day.

...

I woke up after two hours, still in my bed, and still gazing at the white ceiling of my room. Surprisingly, I didn't hear knocking from my friends, I would think that they would immediately come check on me as soon as I got back. Because according to Thalus and Yami, I was confined in that room for a few days, and on the night I was apprehended, I made quite a ruckus as well. Surely, would alert nearby students that I had gone missing, because I do remember swinging the door opening loudly and dashing to Emigrace's office that night.  
I opened my mouth and exhaled a long sigh.  
At times like this, I really wish I could see how they are doing or at the very least, what they are thinking. I can't really assume what they're thinking, in the same way, I imagine people in my history books think.

My eyes widen at the new thought. I lift myself off my bed and the first thing I did was pull out my history book from my backpack. "I almost forgot! There might be some information about that blacksmith here!" I muttered to myself as I flipped through the pages of the two-hundred-page textbook.

I found a few pages regarding the Keyblade and the blacksmith.

"The Keyblade was founded by a blacksmith way up in the mountains," I read the paragraph, then looking over to the picture mentioned, which highly resembles the mountain patterns surrounding the academy. I lowered my eyes and read the caption underneath it, "these mountains are now the site for Illusion Academy, the blacksmith's cave was never found during the construction process."  
I continued to gloss over the contents of the page, "the blacksmith, Ron, was referred as a wizard, a witch, and some, a master, after revealing a key-shaped weapon that can conjure mysterious forces from nature at the user's will, and defeat the mysterious shadow creatures-later called Heartless-with ease. The townsfolk were both at ease and angered by such a thing. There were people who would praise the man with such a creation, and those who would disregard the good nature of the weapon and spat all the bad things that could come with great power. But with time, Ron gained followers to he guided to his mountain to train in the art of wielding and crafting the weapon. He explained that the weapon chooses its master and will stay with its master. As he demonstrated by summoning his weapon-which he later dubbed to be the Keyblade-out of thin air. His pupils were amazed by this act and were motivated to start training right away. Eventually, the entire townspeople had Keyblades of their own, which made him very happy. However, he trails off on his own, without notifying his pupils, but only to leave a note stating that he would be going to Yin to teach them the invention of the Keyblade."

Interesting, very interesting, indeed, I thought to myself. I would never have thought that people would be against such a weapon, well, I guess that's too be expected if you were to see something so extraordinary out of the blue, killing Heartless in one fatal swing.

I continue to read the passage, "after that, the rest of his pupils decided to continue their training to forge more Keyblades and document the abilities of the Keyblade. Before long, the townsfolk decided to drop the use of the weapon, as the shadow creatures' numbers dwindled with each passing day. Ron's pupils decided to move their training area to another secluded area in the mountains, passing down their knowledge of the Keyblade to their descendants as time passes. By that time, everyone in the small town forgot about Ron. It is unknown what became of him after venturing to Yin." I closed the book, laying it flat on my desk. I folded my hands together and pressed it against my forehead.  
"How could they just forget about him? Wasn't he important?" I muttered to myself.

Trying to delve too much into history is just going to leave me with more questions regarding what I'm learning. Thinking too much about it will take me away from the reality I live in. I would assume that's the glory of reading; how it whisks you away to a land of thinking and imagination as you picture the environment around you.  
I take a peek out the window, to peer at the orange and blue sky as the night overtakes the sunlight. A time where the sparkling moon will overtake the bright sun and the land will be covered in darkness. From the words of higher officers, the night will be your best friend out in the battlefield. The dark cover of the night sky will keep you safe, invisible to the enemy lines who are outlined in clear white. Just don't make a sound, and you'll be protected.  
They're true in some aspects of that, but I highly doubt Enlightenment Academy would wear their uniforms in the war. We even take our combat bodysuits for camouflage under the night. It was a smart tactic that every military officer with some form of intelligence should know.  
I inhale and exhale, forming a deep sigh as I lower myself down to my chair, "all this free thinking got my mind off important things?" I whisper to myself.  
Maybe I'm thinking about too many things right now. My past concerns about my friends, school, and myself as a whole. Is this what youth is like? The main character in "Dark Blight" has to deal with growing up from a kid to an adult, and coming to terms with the negative things about himself on his journey. That character may have left some sort of influence on me, maybe that's why I sound like a novel character. It really does sound weird, doesn't it? I mean, people would get the impression that I'm easily influenced by pretty much anything, really, assuming they get to know me. But what really gets me thinking from time to time is how people really think about me. I know how Yuro views me, from my conversation with him in the shower room; which was both unsettling and awkward to have, despite the light tone he would constantly give off 24/7. He said he wanted to see the world through my shoes and how he wanted to learn more about me. Which was pretty interesting to hear, coming from him. It really makes you wonder how much a person struggles and how much you don't really know how someone else really feels unless you dig into it and uncover the dirt-concealing it and bring it out into the blazing sun. Come to think of it, I haven't heard what Selena or the rest of the girls think about me. It just sparks curiosity in my mind, the kind that I don't know how to spell unless I explore it for myself.

I stand up from my chair and stretch out my arms and legs, tired from sitting all for a few hours. I take a look at the camera hanging above my closet door. At the same time, I press the button on my earpiece, turning the mic on, "I almost forgot you have a camera in my room," I smiled for the camera.  
I hear static feedback on my mic, "oh, hahah... I kinda forgot too," Emigrace nervously laughed.

Why is she flustered? Unless she is still a bit guilty about the incident a few days ago and the argument before that. I haven't forgotten about any of it, but I want to talk it over. I haven't been fair to anyone lately, I highly doubt I deserve Yuro's kindness or everyone else's forgiveness.

I spoke softly, "hey, can I come talk to you?"  
"Sure! Anytime is fine."

I nodded to the camera, and I made a dash to the door, hurriedly slipping on my black dress shoes. I opened the door slowly and closed it without a sound, then I jogged all the way to her office. I passed by a couple of students on the way, they were just coming back from their extra study time, I assumed. All of them looked like they were having fun, with their casual chats with their friends, filled with laughter and smiles.  
At that moment, I felt a shock through my brain, as a new possibility formed within my trail of thoughts. I want to have fun, that was a single thought. Usually, I would be emotionless as hell during school and mission, refusing to speak with anyone. But because of my interactions with my newly found friends, I felt different than before, way different. As if their laughter and familiarity softened the stone-cold heart I thought I had. It all started after meeting Ayako! After hearing her question my way of life, I lost for the first time in my career as a student-soldier. Through that, I was able to meet new friends through that one failure. One by one, I met new friends, and I learned more and more about those friends. I really don't know what it means to be a "normal teenager," but staying with my friends gave me something that can only amount to be the "normal lifestyle" of a normal teenager I've read in "Dark Blight" and other novels. But again, I don't really know what can be counted as normal, I can only guess based on the fictional novels I've been reading.

I stood in front of Emigrace's office once again, the memory of me being apprehended flashes into my mind. I frown to myself, displeased with that situation. I shake it away and knocked on her door.

"Come in," I hear her call from the other side.  
I take hold of the door handle, pushing it down and slowly moving into the lit room. I close the door behind me and I wander over to the couch nearby, setting myself down, I began to talk: "still nothing on my past, huh?" I asked.  
She frowned and nodded, "I'm sorry."  
I waved my hand and shrugged it off, "no need. After all, I should be apologizing to you, for yelling at you in such a rude tone a few days ago.. haha..." I laughed nervously.  
She giggled, "now you're the one who's nervous."  
"Hey," I said quite sternly, "I'm bad at expressing these things."

I may have been rushing this too much, so taking it on a much slower path would be much more rewarding than the hurt and drama this caused me. Well, I'm glad things got patched up quicker than I imagined. It wasn't right that I burst out in front of her so suddenly, putting my own demands on the table, rather than sharing it with hers; it was unfair. So, it was only natural to apologize.

She smiled, "you were always one to lack understanding."  
"I guess so."

I return her smile with another, showing my affection towards her. She was someone who I was deeply affiliated with wherever I went in the Academy. Plus, being my guardian, I always felt a strong attachment to her. The lack of knowledge in my past is a bit frustrating, though, did I misword it? I'll test to make sure.

"Well! Can you tell me a little bit about my time with you?" I try to ask normally, but it all came out in a nervous wreck.  
She looked at me in surprise, "oh, sure!" she said brightly, then continued in a more lowered tone, "but I don't think it will provide insight on your time before that.."

I was completely fine with it since that was the "past" I wanted to know. The time before that is important, yes, but it's not like she would know any of it.

I crossed my legs, "that's fine. I just wanted to know more about _my_ past."  
She stumbled back in her chair and fell over to the floor in absolute shock. She violently grasped her desk with one hand to lift herself up. Her expression of shock clearly read: "WHAT!?" I felt amused watching that unfold, as I sat there, a smile plastered mentally and physically.  
"I never believed that you'll ask me about that!" she said, absolutely surprised.  
"Careful, don't get that tailored suit dirty now. I wouldn't want to see your cleaning bills by the end of the month," I smirked.  
"She smiled viciously, "why you little..."

I suppose she didn't like my snarky comment, I thought.

I crossed my arms, continuing, "I thought women are supposed to be softer," I smiled, "am I wrong?"  
"Dammit Kazu! Don't screw with me!" she roared in a demonish voice, with a dark aura surrounding her, figuratively.

I decided to put down the jokes and continue with the topic before I get suspended for verbal abuse to a supervisor.

"Anyway, we should continue with my past, shall we?" I say in a lighter tone, attempting to soften the mood.

The dark vibe and aura she emitted vanished within a second as if she transformed from her darker self to her innocent self.  
Women are scary! I thought. Well, I've seen similar things happen with Xiu, so I guess I can picture such a thing.  
She picked up her chair off the ground and placed herself back on it. Taking deep breaths, she finally returned to normal levels of sane. Which is the more preferred state of mind I wish for everyone to be in. Much more tolerable when I'm being serious, but knowing that I'm being a complete jerk now, I can't help but excite myself to throw more abusive words at her. But that'll be mean, especially because she's my guardian and is pretty much the reason I'm here.

She cleared her throat, "ehem. I first met you seven years ago, right?" she asked for confirmation. To which I nod in response, allowing her to continue: "yeah, I met you around seven years ago."

She closed her eyes, giving me the impression that she was picturing the events in her memories, trying to forge a better explanation for me. Which is pretty thoughtful for her since I'm always giving her information from missions right down to the detail, so she must be returning the favor. That's what I like to think, at least.

"Seven years ago, we, the Darkness Faction came back to Sillith, the main city within the Light Faction which was still named Yin before their upbringing. From there, we attacked those who opposed us, and I happened to be accompanying them on the mission of bringing any suitable people for our plans. I met you in a nearby burning house. You were bawling like the baby you are today!" she brightly spoke with confidence.  
"I expected more from someone older than me," I sighed in great disappointment.  
"..." she growled, bitterly. "Anyway, remember that I said I sensed a 'gift' inside you? Well, at that moment, I felt something special when I saw you, so I brought you back to Yang, which was already renamed 'Darkness Faction.' From there, I was tasked to take care of you and train you for Illusion Academy. It was already established two years prior to the launch of the first attack on Silith, and recently, they introduced the combat curricular system to be necessary to enter the school, as well as average academic scores," she folded her hands.  
"I'm guessing Commander Yami was the one who proposed military training?"  
She nodded, "correct, he passed it during one of his speeches after he was elected by the people of Dilith."

It would surprise me if the brass didn't accept his proposal, after all, Yami has a lot of power at his disposal at that point. I thought.

"So, that was his first order of business, huh?" I calmly asked.  
Emigrace sighed, "yes, he had a huge sum of money and power at the time. And given his position and huge support from the entire population, they wouldn't say no to him."  
"But his proposal was sound, right? There's no way someone of a higher power could just accept his proposal right off the bat," I argued.

The room's atmosphere was silent. Cold as day, black as night. As if we were discussing something insecure. I've already delved into uncharted territory at this point, it's too late to back down now. I've made a choice to be here, and I have to stick with it to the end. The door to uncovering the past that ties me to this academy is within reach. I just need to push on further, on this path Ayako pushed me on. There was never a choice to go back, I never had that choice. The only thing I can do is find the truth on the other side of the door of memories.  
Emigrace, you'll be the key to unlocking this door for me. I thought.

 **END**

 **Next Time:**

 **TRUTH**


End file.
